Pete's Dragon, Penny's Doubt
by all4jesus84
Summary: What if Pete had a twin sister named Penny? What if the story wasn't as innocent and perfect as it all seems? What if Pete was the only one who was naive enough to believe Nora and Lampie's motives? What if Penny was just too realistic to believe any of i
1. Chapter 1: Escape

**Chapter One: Escape**

"Elliottt, can't you be any quieter? They'll _hear_ you. Big footsteps!" Penny hissed as she clung to the gigantic dragon's neck. Her twin brother Pete shushed her.

"If they'll hear anything, it'll be your belly-aching." He whispered. Penny wanted to say more on the matter, but this wasn't exactly the time. She could yell at Pete later.

"Besides, Elliott's being as quiet as he can. He is big, you know." Pete hissed a moment later. Penny glared at him.

"Shh! Now they'll hear _you!"_ She snapped, feeling Elliott's belly rumbling. He was laughing!

"Elliott, shut up!" Penny said as quietly as she could. Even if Elliott _was_ invisible at the moment, the Gogan's would still hear anything out of the ordinary. Especially Mrs. Gogan. She had the ears of a rabbit, she did. The last thing the twins wanted was to get caught. Even though Penny hated to admit it, Elliott really was their only hope of getting away, for good this time.

Elliott was, in fact, a dragon. When Pete ran up to Penny in the fields a few days ago, yelling about how a dragon had come to rescue them, Penny doubted him fiercely. There were no such things as dragons. Or fairies, or angels, or the tooth fairy or even Santa Claus. The Gogans made sure the kids knew anything good didn't exist for them. Nope, they were destined to be miserable, said Mrs. Gogan.

But Pete was furiously insistent, claiming a large dragon named Elliott knew they were in trouble, and came to help them get away. Oh Penny had tried to reason with him. There were no such things as dragons, but Pete grabbed her hand and unwillingly dragged her out past the fence they weren't allowed to cross, and there she saw him.

Elliott.

At first Penny thought she might be hallucinating. It wouldn't be the first time. When she was sick with the fever a fear years ago, when Mrs. Gogan had locked her in a room until it broke so nobody else would catch it, she remembered all kinds of hallucinations, some good, and some bad. That was what she thought was happening, but it was no hallucination. She was meeting a real dragon, and it was true. Elliott had come to rescue them.

Penny was full of doubts as Elliott told them his plan to get the kids away from their abusive adoptive family, the Gogans. Penny tried to be realistic. That had always been the difference between Pete and Penny. Pete was full of dreams, and visions for a wonderful future. Penny was stuck in reality. This was her life, this was her future. Life wasn't about wonder, or goodness. If it was, then why were they living with the Gogans, where they constantly forced to work, and where they were constantly beaten if they slacked off in any way. No, Penny didn't enjoy her life. She hated it, who wouldn't? But there was no happy life out there for the twins.

But maybe, Penny wondered, maybe Pete and Penny could make it on their own. If they could only get away from the Gogans and _stay_ away this time. Yes, they had tried to escape once before, but the orphanage people had found them, and forced them to go back. Neither Pete nor Penny could sit down properly for a month after that. The bruises would never go away.

So with the thought that Penny and Pete could take care of each other, and with Elliott on their side, Penny agreed to leave that night.

Riding a dragon would have been fun had they not been running for their lives. Penny still thought she must be dreaming somehow. _Let's be realistic. A dragon helping us escape? Nobody would ever believe me._ But oh Petey. Pete was so out there. Anytime the Gogans tried to crush any of his dreams, he would stand up for himself and claim a better life than this. He would be beaten to a pulp, and as Penny would treat his wounds and tell him to be realistic, he'd try to convince her of his own dreams and goals. Penny tried to be patient with him, but it was so difficult. She felt so much older than their 10 years, having to think as an adult at times, suppressing her own feelings and hopes. It was just her and Pete now. She had to take care of him, and she had to get it through his head that this was it.

"I think I can hear them getting closer." Penny hissed, when she thought she heard Willie's voice off in the distance. Willie was Mr. and Mrs. Gogan's son, and the one who hit Pete more than he hit Penny. He did other things with Penny. Things she didn't want to think about.

"We'd better hide." Pete whispered back. Penny felt her stomach dropped as the invisible Elliott lowered his neck so let the kids off. He muttered something quietly.

"No Elliott, if you try to fly, people will see us floating in midair. It's too risky. We'll just hide out here until they go away." Penny said, motioning to Pete. Pete stared at Elliott. Strange, Penny thought, even though they knew Elliott was invisible, they knew where he was. It wasn't like they could _see _him, more like they could _sense_ him. It was strange. It really didn't make any logical sense at all.

"Just stay invisible, Elliott." Pete warned, as he followed his sister. Penny rolled her eyes. It didn't seem like the dragon was stupid. A little slow sometimes, but not stupid. Penny grabbed Pete's hand and they quickly found an open log the two of them could squeeze in without difficulty. Since the Gogans hardly ever fed the twins, with the exception of bread and water every couple of days, it was no surprise the malnourished twins could fit inside a hollow log. Penny stared at Pete, and pressed her finger to her lips. She could hear Mrs. Gogan yelling already. Penny could only hope Elliott would just stay away until the Gogans moved on.

That was when Penny heard the crackling voice of Mrs. Gogan.

"Oh Petey! Oh Penny dear!" She tried to sound like the caring mother she always pretended to be when the orphanage directors came by to check up on them. Those were the only times they had nicer clothes and weren't filthy from working the fields.

"Please come back, we miss you. You're like children to us." Mrs. Gogan sang out. Penny felt sick just listening to her. Honestly, did they think they were going to believe a word they said? They weren't stupid. At least Willy was honest.

"Brats, where is you?!? We're gonna snag ya, gag ya, drag ya through the town. Put your head in the river and let y'all drown!" He laughed out loud as Mr. Gogan smacked him over the head.

"Come on kids, we miss you already, come back, and we'll have the happiest home in these hills." He said, trying to sound like a dear old dad. Penny shuddered to herself. Their voices were getting closer. She knew they'd be skinned alive if they were caught. Would Elliott intervene if that happened?

"I think they went this way!" Willie shouted.

"Naw, they went _that_ way!" His brother, Grover replied.

"What do you know? You don't know 'em like _I_ know 'em." Willie retorted.

"You be thinking wrong, bro. I spend more time beaten' 'em than you do." Grover shouted.

"Yer crazy!" Penny swallowed. The Gogan brothers were _right_ beside the log they were hiding in. She held her hand over her mouth so they wouldn't hear her breathing. Those two scared her worse than Mr. and Mrs. Gogan. The brothers were _rough!_

As the brothers argued, Penny had a sense that Elliott was moving. She looked through a hole in the log and saw Elliott moving toward them. She heard Pete's insistent whispering.

"No, Elliott, don't!" He hissed. Penny glared at him with her finger pressed tightly to her mouth. _Shut up Pete!_ She thought harshly. Not that she thought it would do any good. Even if they _were _twins, they couldn't always read each other's thoughts.

Elliott swung that large tail of his, and Willie went down in the mud. Penny shook her head as Elliott took another swing and Grover went next. As the brothers shouted and cursed and flung mud at each other, Mr. and Mrs. Gogan showed up, screaming at the brothers about horsing around when it was important than they find these orphan brats.

"Why do we gotta find 'em so bad, Ma?" Grover asked.

"Yeah, why don't we just buy another orphan?" Willie inquired.

"Don't you know anything? Those orphans cost me 50 bucks as a package deal! The only reason I got 'em so cheap instead of 50 bucks a pop was because they were twins. We can't afford another 50 bucks for only _one _orphan brat! And if you don't find 'em, then it'll be you two working the farm, all by yourself. Which means no more chasing after pretty ladies for you." Mrs. Gogan explained. There was a moment of silence, before Grover and Willie finally shouted at the same time.

"PETE! PENNY!" Obviously they were now desperate to find them.

Penny waited until she heard the last of their footsteps die off before she finally poked her head out of the log. They were gone. Penny breathed out slowly. They did it. They got away from them. They had never gotten this far before. Maybe this really could work.

"Thanks Elliott, but next time, you'll have to be more careful. They could have seen you." Pete pointed out as he peeked his head out next to Penny.

"No they couldn't have. He's _invisible._ I was more worried they'd think it was us, and then _never_ leave this forest. They would have found us for sure." Penny said.

"But they didn't! See Penny, I _told_ you Elliott would be able to help us." Pete said with a wide grin. Penny sighed.

"Alright so you were right. That doesn't mean they still won't find us. We have to be real careful now, Pete. This isn't a game." She said. Pete sighed. Penny knew Pete hated it when Penny said things like that, but she liked to live in the real world. Pete liked to think they were invincible. He truly believed they were safe from the Gogans now.

"Anyway, I don't think we should go anywhere tonight. It's dark and it's late." Penny said. She heard Elliott say something.

"Elliott's right. It's better if we just stay here tonight. The Gogans will be farther away from us if we sleep here for the night." Penny added. Pete nodded.

"Good idea Elliott." He smiled at the dragon. Penny rolled her eyes. _It was my idea._

The twins curled up inside the log. As Penny tried to find sleep, she stared at the stars through a crack in the log. She tried to imagine what it would be like to have faith like Pete's. To believe that there was a silver lining on those dark clouds above. No matter how much she tried to stretch her heart, she couldn't let that thought in. It was just too dark to see.

She closed her eyes and fell asleep the heavy sound of a dragon snoring.


	2. Chapter 2: Waking Up

**Chapter Two: Waking Up**

Penny woke up the next morning before Pete did. She looked over and saw him sound asleep beside her. She breathed out. So it wasn't a dream after all. When she first woke up, she had thought perhaps she was just having a strange dream about a dragon who came to rescue them from the wrath of the Gogans.

But it was true. How _else _would they have gotten into the forest?

Penny stood up and looked around. There was no sign of Elliott anywhere. Penny sighed. _Great, so he gets us out of there, and he takes off. Now what?_ It wasn't like Penny couldn't come up with a plan for her and her brother. There had to be _somewhere_ they could stay without people asking questions, without the orphanage chasing after them to send them back to the Gogans. Still, Penny had somehow hoped Elliott would have a plan. But he was gone.

Penny jumped out of the log and onto the ground. She still saw the indent in the mud beside the log where Grover and Willie had fallen in. She had to supress a laugh.

She wandered a little bit through the forest, which looked very different in the daylight. It didn't seem as scary, anymore. Now the grass was green and the sky was blue and the sun was out. It felt wonderful to be free.

It was then that Penny realized she was hungry. She shrugged it off instinctively, as she and Pete had learned to do. Hunger didn't always mean you had an opportunity to eat, not with the Gogans, and God help you if you ever mentioned hunger. Not only were you beaten, but you would also go another day without food.

But today, Penny was free. And she could make out an apple tree off in the distance. _Oh boy, those look good!_ She thought excitedly. When was the last time she had had an apple? She couldn't even remember.

Penny ran to the tree, and felt a twinge of disappointment when she noticed the apples were much too high for her to reach. The tree was much higher than she had anticipated from afar. Those apples had to be at least 20 feet up.

Not being one to give up easily, Penny found a branch, and hoisted herself up. When she was really little, before they had been placed with the Gogans, she loved to climb trees at the orphanage. There hadn't been much opportunity for tree climbing with the Gogans. It would only earn her another beating.

Even though it had been years since she had last climbed a tree, it came as second nature to her, and she breezed her way to the top branch, where she was able to almost reach the apples. However, her arms were just a little too short.

Penny reached over, as she clung to the branch behind her. She just wanted to grab a couple of apples. One for her, and one for Pete. That would be good enough for now. She wasn't going to complain.

But darn it, she just _couldn't_ reach those darned apples!

Then she lost her footing.

Her foot slipped off the branch that was supporting her, and the shock caused her to let go of the branch she was holding.

She was going down.

She let out a little scream, and immediately felt something grab her around her middle before she hit the ground.

Penny opened her eyes and saw the familiar green and purple of a tail wrapped around her middle. It was Elliott. He caught her with his tail.

Penny breathed out as Elliott set her down gently. Penny looked up at him. He wasn't invisible anymore. He was fully visible, all of him. Penny kept forgetting how big he really was. She sighed.

"Thanks Elliott." She said quietly. Elliott hummed his response.

"What happened? I heard you scream." Pete said, as he came running. Penny sighed.

"Nothing, I was just trying to get some apples." She replied. Pete looked up and saw the apples up high in the tree.

"From up _there?"_ Pete asked. Penny was about to reply, but Elliott spoke up in his dragon talk, that the kids, for some odd reason, could understand. Pete smiled.

"Thanks for catching her, Elliott." He said. Penny felt embarrassed. It was times like these she still felt she was a little kid, unable to take care of herself. That was all she wanted. She hated that she was so little, sometimes.

Before she could say anything else, she noticed that Elliott had begun shaking the apple tree. Apples were falling down all around the twins. Pete and Penny ran to gather them. Penny only grabbed a couple, knowing better than to stuff her face. Now that they were free from the Gogans, there would be more opportunity to find food. Even if they decided to stay close to this forest, they would always have this apple tree, as long as they had Elliott.

"Thanks Elliott." The twins chimed together, as they bit into their first apple. Elliot flew in a circle and landed on his back. Pete laughed and climbed up onto Elliot's stomach to finish the rest of his apple. Penny held back. She found a spot on the grass, and leaned up against a tree. She had to think of a plan.

While Elliott and Pete talked and laughed, Penny tried to weigh their options. If they stayed in the forest, they risked being caught by the Gogans. They were still pretty close to the old farmhouse. Penny wasn't sure which direction the Gogans went, but she knew it would be the safest if they travelled _away_ from the farmhouse.

She supposed they could check out the next town. She didn't know what it was called, but they could go there. Maybe there would be an empty farmhouse, or stable, or somewhere the kids could sleep at night. Maybe they could even get a job, make a bit of money so they could buy _real_ food. Penny wasn't sure yet, but it sounded like the best plan. Town it was. They would figure it all out from there. The Gogans wouldn't go into a town. They weren't exactly social creatures; they would avoid a town at all costs.

Penny finished the last of her apple, and stuffed her second one in her pocket for later. She brushed off her hands and wandered off to find a stream where she could wash her face. She smiled to herself as she passed by Elliott and Pete, who were making silly faces at each other. Penny sighed. Pete still acted like a child, something for which Penny was often jealous for. They _were_, after all, children, but being forced to work long hours and fend for themselves, Penny had learned very quickly to think and act like an adult. No matter how much she wished she could still be a kid, she couldn't remember. Pete, on the other hand, had always had an active imagination. Even when they were working in the fields, he would tell Penny all these wonderful stories about faraway lands and kings and queens and princes and princesses, and epic battles, and knights and castles. It kept Pete's spirits up, and it got him through the day, but Penny couldn't do it like Pete could. She had been ruined by the Gogans. She'd forgotten what it was to be a kid. She envied her brother something fierce. They were the same age, and yet, it was almost as though Penny was the eldest.

Penny found the stream and knelt down beside it. She stared at her reflection for a while, and sighed. Her face was streaked with dirt. What else was new? If they didn't want to raise suspicion in the next town, they would have to look their best. _It's too bad we don't have good clothes._ Penny thought, as she scooped up some water and scrubbed hard at her face, and arms. She scrubbed and felt refreshed by the cool water on her skin. But as she looked back at her reflection, she noticed that her face was...green?

"BOO!" Elliott's face popped out of the water where Penny's reflection had been. Penny let out a scream and fell backwards. Then she heard Pete laughing from behind her, and Elliott laughing as he came up out of the water. He must have gone underwater downstream, and floated up to where Penny was. They were playing a joke on her. Penny cleared her throat as Pete approached her, laughing and pointing.

"Ha ha!" She said sarcastically, as she pulled on Pete's arm. "Come on Pete, you have to wash up. We gotta look our best."

"What for?" Pete asked, as he knelt down next to Penny.

"I got a plan, but we have to look nice. Otherwise, people might know we're orphans, and they might tell the orphanage. I don't want to get sent back to the Gogans, not now." Penny replied.

"Me neither." Pete started washing his face. "But where are we going? Do you have a place for us to go?"

"Not exactly. I thought we could just go to whatever the next town is, and see what it's like. Maybe we can find a place to sleep. Then we can just keep traveling. We'll go a bit further every day. Maybe we can even get to China!" Penny exclaimed.

"That's a great idea! Elliott said he saw a sign for a town down the road over there." Pete pointed. "Maybe we can go there." Penny shrugged, as she pointed out a spot of dirt on her brother's nose.

"Okay, we can go there. Maybe we should grab a couple more apples for the road, just in case we can't find anything else to eat." She said, and then Elliott interrupted.

"Elliott said not to worry about food. He could always fly back here if we needed more food." Pete explained.

"I heard him." Penny said. Why was it that Pete thought Penny couldn't hear Elliott? She could understand him _and_ see him. She didn't understand why, exactly, especially when he was invisible sometimes, and he spoke in what seemed like another language. Maybe it was something only kids could do.

"Alright, well, we should go then. It might take us a while to get there, and who _knows_ what we'll find when we get there. It might not be a nice place, and we might have to keep going, so we should start early." Penny pointed out. Pete nodded as he dried his face off on his sleeves. Elliott led the way toward the sign he said he saw earlier. Pete and Penny followed in silence, just enjoying the fresh air, and warm breeze. It was so nice to wake up and not be forced to do any chores.

"There it is!" Pete said, pointing to the sign that Elliott was standing behind. Penny crinkled her brow at the sign.

"Passamaquoddy." She read slowly, having to say it over a few times. "What kind of name is that for a town?"

"It sounds like a nice place." Pete said. Penny wasn't so sure, but they had nowhere else to go. Pete turned to Elliott, who was still fully visible.

"Now Elliott, we want the people of Passamaquoddy to like us, don't we?" Pete asked. Elliott nodded his whole-hearted agreement. Penny crossed her arms.

"No, we don't, Pete. If we want to get through this town without people knowing we're orphans, we don't want to meet anybody. All we have to do is go in, see if there's a place we can stay, and then get out. If we meet people, they'll ask us questions, and I don't want to have to think of any lies." She said. Elliott said something to her, with angry eyebrows. Penny sighed.

"Yes I know lying is bad, Elliott, but we might not have a choice." She pointed out. Pete shook his head.

"It might be nice to meet some people." He said. Elliott nodded. Penny only stared at them and decided not to argue anymore, but she did turn to Elliott seriously.

"You'll have to be invisible, Elliott." She said. Elliott stared at her and was taken aback. Penny nodded.

"I know you don't want to, Elliott, but most people aren't used to seeing dragons. I mean, you're not really...supposed to be real." She said. "Just stay invisible and stay out of trouble." Penny begged, clasping her hands together. The last thing they needed was to draw attention to themselves because of a clumsy dragon.

Elliott looked sad but he finally allowed himself to go invisible.

"Don't be sad, Elliott. We'll still have fun, and don't worry, you won't have to stay invisible all day. We'll find a place where you can be visible." Pete said. Penny nodded.

"Pete's right, Elliott. It's just for a little bit." She encouraged. Elliott seemed a little more optimistic about things, so the twins and Elliott headed down the small dirt path that led to Passamaquoddy.

Penny couldn't help but feel nervous.


	3. Chapter 3: Passamaquoddy

**Chapter Three: Passamaquoddy**

Penny's feet were sore by the time they reached the bottom of the hill that led into the small town. She wished Elliott didn't have to be invisible, or she'd ask to ride him the rest of the way. She sighed. _That would look too weird. Two kids floating in midair._ She giggled at the thought.

"Look, we're here!" Pete yelled out suddenly, pointing on ahead. Penny looked in Pete's direction to see a stone path leading into the town. Penny breathed out slowly.

"Good. Let's find a place to rest for a couple of minutes." She said.

"Why? Are you tired already?" Pete teased. Penny shot him a glare as the two continued onward. Pete laughed to himself.

"Well, _I'm_ not tired." He said. Penny swore she heard Elliott's laughter from behind her. She turned and glared in the direction of Elliott. The laughing ceased.

"It _was_ a long walk. And anyway, the only reason _you're_ not tired is because you slept all night. I kept waking up because you wouldn't lie still! You kept poking me." Penny complained.

"Did not!" Pete snapped.

"Did too, and how would_ you_ know? You were _asleep!"_

"You're just making it up!"

Penny was about to snap back again, but she felt something tug on the straps of her overalls. She turned and saw the same thing had happened to Pete. Elliott was intervening. They were both quiet as they listened to Elliott lecturing them. Penny sighed.

"Well _I_ didn't start it. Pete was the one who-"

Elliott cleared his throat.

"Okay, you're right Elliott. Sorry Pete." Penny said, as she felt Elliott's tail let go of her overalls. Pete smiled.

"I'm sorry too, Penny." He replied. Penny smiled and took her brother's hand, and the three continued into the town of Passamaquoddy.

"I'm gettin' kinda hungry, how about you?" Penny asked suddenly. Pete smiled.

"Sure am, and look up ahead. There's a cart with cinnamon rolls. Oh boy, those look really good!" He said. Penny saw up in the distance what Pete had seen. An old man was behind a cart, and the most amazing cinnimon rolls were in full view, still steaming hot. Penny licked her lips. Pete started to run forward. Penny grabbed his shoulder.

"Pete, what are you doing?" She asked.

"I'm going to ask that man if we can have some of those cinnimon rolls." Pete replied. Penny looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

"Pete, they aren't free. You have to buy them. And we don't have any money." She pointed out. Pete sighed, crossing his arms, still staring at the cinnimon rolls.

"Well, what _are_ we going to eat?" He asked, staring at Penny sarcastically. Penny glared at him. Why couldn't _he_ ever think of any decent plans that didn't involve something unrealistic?

Penny looked around and saw a pear tree off in the distance. She smiled to herself.

"There, we can have some pears." She pointed. Pete looked over and saw the tree. He looked at her.

"But, it's in somebody's yard. Wouldn't that be stealing?" He asked. Penny sighed. She hadn't thought of that. But when she really thought about it, trees weren't made by people anyway. They were a part of nature. That tree didn't _really_ belong to anybody.

"No, Pete, it's not stealing." She said.

"Are you sure?" Pete asked.

"I think so, but anyway, aren't you hungry?"

"Yeah."

"Alright then, we're gettin' us some pears." Penny ran up ahead, ignoring the conversation that Elliott and Pete began having as she ran off. No doubt, they were debating whether or not this was stealing. Penny sighed to herself. _Is it really stealing when you're starving anyway?_

She hopped the white picket fence and peered around. If it wasn't stealing, then why was she so afraid of getting caught?

She grabbed the lowest tree branch and hoisted herself up. Luckily, the pears weren't as high as those apples had been that morning, and she grabbed a few, sticking them in her pockets. She looked down and saw Pete staring at her worriedly. She offered him a reassuring smile as she grabbed the last of her pears. That was when she heard the shouting.

"Hey! What are you doing up in that tree? Are you stealing my pears?" An old man shouted at the top of his lungs. Penny looked over her shoulder nervously as the man began running down the steps of his house, holding a broom. Vivid memories flashing in Penny's mind of being beaten with a broomstick caused her to jump from the tree in fear, and run as fast as she could.

"Come on, Pete, come _on!_" She shouted, as she grabbed Pete's hand. She nearly tripped over her own two feet as the two ran away from the man who was chasing them.

"Come back here, you rotten kids! I'll teach you to steal from my pear tree!" The man shouted. Penny and Pete ran as fast as they could.

"In here, Penny, in here!" Pete said suddenly as he pulled his sister around a corner and behind a house. They kept low until the old man had passed them, who was looking around in every direction.

"Did anyone see those rotten kids?" He yelled.

"Kids? I haven't seen any kids." Another replied.

"What did they look like?"

"Street scum if you ask me."

"Don't say that, they _are_ kids."

"Did you hear what I _said?_ They stole from my property! They're bad news. We've got to find them." The man led the way, and a few others followed after him. Penny and Pete stayed low until they disappeared. Penny breathed out, as she heard Elliott's low voice rumbling from behind her. She turned around defensively.

"Elliott, I wasn't stealing!...Yes I _know_ stealing is wrong, but, it wasn't..." She couldn't even believe it herself anymore. Pete just stared at her, not saying anything. Penny sighed.

"You're mad at me, aren't you?" She asked. Pete didn't answer her. Penny narrowed her brows.

"Fine." She took the pears out of her pocket and dropped them on the ground. "There! Are you happy now?" Penny took off. They wouldn't be able to stay in Passamaquoddy now.

She turned a corner and stole a peek behind her, realizing Elliott and Pete were following close behind. Pete stared at the ground, arms crossed. Penny rolled her eyes. Not exactly watching where she was going, she didn't realize she had stepped into a pile of wet cement.

"Ew gross!" She shouted as she pulled her foot out and wiped her shoe on the grass.

"My sidewalk! What did you do?" A man yelled as he stared at the cement which now had a footprint in it. Penny looked up and saw the anger in that man's face as well. She backed away slowly and felt herself collide with something.

"Woah, watch out!" Another man shrieked. Penny turned around and saw she had run into a man carrying crates and crates full of eggs. He was stumbling on his feet trying to keep his balance. Penny stepped away from him, not wanting to get in the way again, but it was too late. He lost his balance, and the eggs flew everywhere, including a group of women who were watching nearby. They all shrieked in disgust as they tried to wipe away the broken eggs from their pretty dresses. Penny was shell-shocked, as she stared at the eggs. Then she looked up at Pete, who stared back at her nervously, and there was Elliott, who looked ready to run.

"There they are! There's the thieves!" The man with the pear tree shouted. Penny turned and saw him with his broomstick, and a crowd of followers with him.

"They ruined my sidewalk! I don't have any cement left to fix it!" The man who cemented the sidewalk yelled.

"Just look at this mess they made!" The egg man said.

"They're nothing but trouble!"

"Get them!"

This time, it was Pete's turn to grab Penny's hand and the two made a run for it. The angry shouts from the mob were close behind, but the two kids were quick sprinters, and they easily outran the crowd. But the crowd wasn't about to give up. They shouted, and ran, and waved their broomsticks, rakes, umbrellas, whatever they had, chasing after those kids.

"What now?" Penny yelled. Pete saw their chance. A pile of empty crates just outside an old tavern.

"Hide! Behind there!" Pete pointed and the two dove for their haven. They ducked behind the crates and watched through the cracks as the crowd kept going, shouting in absolute anger. Penny used to think it was only the Gogans who got mad like that. She was wrong. Everybody was the same.

Pete and Penny knelt down on the hard pavement until they were sure there was nobody around. Penny closed her eyes and forced herself not to cry. Crying only got you into trouble. But she was scared. There were people after them now. Penny tried not to think about it.

But she couldn't help it. Seeing the look on Pete's face said it all. He was mad at her. Penny knew she'd have to deal with that, but their first priority was getting out of here.

"Come on." She said, standing up. "We have to get outta here."

"Where?" Pete snapped.

"I don't _know_ Pete, but do you think we can stay here? We can't, not now." Penny sighed, rubbing her forehead. That was when she heard Elliott say something behind her. Penny breathed out.

"Elliott knows where we can go." She said quietly, and the two followed the dragon in absolute silence, as they wandered away from the town.


	4. Chapter 4: Nora

**Chapter Four: Nora**

"For gosh's sake, Pete, just _talk_ to me!" Penny very nearly stomped her foot in frustration as she followed behind Pete and Elliott. Elliott was still invisible, just to be safe. They weren't quite in the cneter of the town now, as they walked down the beach Elliott found, but Penny insisted he keep invisible, in case there were fishermen.

"Pete, stop ignoring me!" Penny yelled again. Pete never budged. He never even turned to _look_ at her. Penny felt bitter tears sting her eyes as Pete continued to walk forward with Elliott, never acknowledging her.

Penny followed in defeated silence. She hated when Pete wouldn't speak to her. She hated it when they fought. They were all each other had. When they fought, it was as though Penny's world was falling apart. If anything ever happened between her and Pete...

Well, it wouldn't. He would talk to her eventually. This vow of silence couldn't go on forever.

Penny felt bad for Elliott, though. The poor dragon kept looking over his shoulder at Penny, but then promptly back at Pete. His body language showed he was struggling with the rift between the twins, and he seemed unsure about what to do with Penny.

But Penny knew Pete needed him more. She figured Elliott knew that too. Penny had never been one to need anyone, just Pete, but even emotionally, she was fine on her own. Pete seemed to cling to Elliott, which Penny couldn't really understand. The twins had each other. Why couldn't Pete cling only to her, like she clung only to him? Had she done something to screw things up? She sighed out loud.

If Pete weren't ignoring her, she would have enjoyed the beach. She wanted nothing more than to take off her shoes and wade in the water. The waves were crashing against the shore, making a loud noise, and Penny wished she and Pete could just forget everything and run through the water. Penny sighed, knowing it wouldn't happen right now. Maybe if Pete was finished being mad at her, they could come back here and try to have some fun.

_If_ Pete would quit being mad at her. Penny sighed.

Penny looked up, and realized there was a tear on her cheek. She hastily brushed it away and followed Elliott and her brother through the mouth of a large cave. Penny should have been frightened, as any other child would have been, but she wasn't. She had seen too much in her ten years to be frightened of a cave. But she did feel a chill. There was no sunlight providing warmth anymore. Penny wished she had a sweater.

Pete climbed up on to a rock, and Elliott, finally making himself visible, held back, unsure of what to do. He began playing with his tail.

Penny wandered around the cafe for a long while, pacing, hating the dead silence that hung in the air. She stole an occassional peek up at Pete, who sat cross-legged on a rock, arms folded tightly. Penny grumbled under her breath as she kept staring at her brother. He finally glanced up and saw her looking at him. He quickly turned his head in the opposite direction. Penny had enough.

"Pete, why aren't you talking to me? Why are you mad at me?" She boomed, feeling more and more angry. Pete turned quickly and glared at her. Penny swallowed. Pete was angry. Pete rarely got angry, a virtue Penny wished she could mimic, but when he was angry, it wasn't pleasant.

"We're in a lotta trouble, and it's all your fault!" Pete blurted out, pointing his finger accusingly. Penny raised an eyebrow and shook her head.

"What?"

"We wanted the people of Passamaquoddy to like us. Now they all think we're criminals." Pete snapped.

"Are you talking about the pears? It wasn't stealing! And anyway, I didn't take them, because you were upset about it. Now we'll probably starve! Besides, _you_ were the one who wanted those people to like us. I told you we just wanted to pass through. We didn't want to draw attention to ourselves!" Penny retaliated. She felt hurt, but angry too. Pete blamed her for what was going on. It wasn't fair.

"It's nice to meet new people sometimes, y'know! We don't always have to be so alone." Pete yelled.

"Yeah, Pete, we do!" Penny screamed. She didn't exactly know why she said it, but Pete wasn't happy.

"I don't get it, Pen. Why do you have to be so scared of people?" He asked.

"Hey! Nobody said I was scared of anyone!"

"But you act like it!"

"Well, I'm not!"

Elliott cleared his throat, and made his dragon sounds. Penny and Pete listened and sighed. Penny crossed her arms as Pete picked a spot on his overalls.

"I didn't really mean it, Penny. It's just that...nothin's working out the way I thought it would. Everything's messed up now. And...I'm scared." Pete admitted. Penny turned and looked at her brother. He had tears in his eyes. Penny hated when he cried. It broke her heart. Forgetting her anger, she went to him, climbed up onto the rock and put her arm around him.

"It'll be okay Pete. We'll...we'll figure something out." Penny tried.

"Like what?" Pete asked. Penny shrugged.

"I don't know, but we can do this."

"But we're just kids, Pen. What if we can't take care of ourselves?"

"But we have been, Pete. The Gogans didn't take care of us. Besides, we have Elliott."

Pete managed a smile.

"Yeah, we have Elliott." He agreed. Penny and Pete laughed when Elliott's belly rumbled with laughter. Penny breathed a sigh of relief. At least _that_ was out of the way. Nothing ever worked out when they fought. Penny sighed.

"Well, I guess we should probably find something to eat." She said suddenly.

"Okay, let's go." Pete replied.

"No wait, Pete, I think you and Elliott should stay here. Everybody knows we're twins, and they're looking for us now. If only one of us goes, it should be safe. Besides, I don't think there will be any trouble. We're far enough away from the town now, but still, just stay here. It'll be easier for just one of us to run away, instead of both of us. I'll be back in a little while. Just stay here. Elliott, keep him safe." Penny said. Elliott muttered something, and Penny sighed.

"I don't need anyone to keep _me_ safe, Elliott, but thanks." She turned back to Pete. "Just stay here, okay? I'll be back soon, and then we'll eat." Pete hesitantly nodded, obviously worried about his sister as she ducked out of the cave, and down the beach. Pete sighed, and listened as Elliott spoke. Pete smiled.

"I know she's stubborn, Elliott, she's always been like that. She always tries to act like a grownup." He replied. Elliott spoke some more.

"I wish she would too. We're just so different sometimes. It's just, you know, I worry about Penny sometimes." Pete said, rubbing his nose. Elliott agreed wholeheartedly.

The two sat in silence for some while, hearing the sound of waves against the beach, and that was when they heard an unfamiliar voice echo against the walls of the cave.

"Hello in there." A woman's voice called. Pete's stomach dropped, and he immediately turned to Elliott.

"Get back! Hide!" He hissed. Elliott stumbled backwards awkwardly and hid behind one of the walls in the cave, trying to keep quiet. Pete nodded his approval, and waited for the stranger to enter the cave.

Sure enough, a woman entered the cave's mouth and her eyes locked on Pete, who was sitting alone on a rock. He tightened his fists nervously. What if this woman was someone from the orphanage coming to get them? They couldn't go back to the Gogans...

"What are you doing in here?" The woman asked. Pete hesitantly shrugged his shoulders. The woman took another step forward.

"This isn't exactly the best place to be hanging around. The tide comes in pretty rough sometimes. This cave can get high waters coming in." The woman pointed out. Pete was quiet, feeling more and more curious about this woman.

"What's your name?" The woman asked.

"Pete." Pete replied.

"I'm Nora." Nora replied. "Are you here all by yourself?"

"Nope." Pete replied. Nora took a quick look around.

"Who's here?" She wanted to know.

"My sister was here a minute ago, but she left for a bit."

"Where are your parents?" Nora asked.

Pete shrugged.

"Where are you staying?" Nora asked.

Pete shrugged again.

Nora sighed.

"Well Pete, I've gotta get back up to the lighthouse, it's getting dark and I'll have to get the light on pretty soon." She paused. "There's chowder on the stove, and there will be lots there. If you'd like, you can come up." Pete's stomach grumbled just thinking about real food. He almost answered her, and then he thought of Penny.

"I can't, I have to wait for Pen...my sister." Pete replied. Nora smiled.

"Well, of course she can come too. Where did she go?" She asked. Pete smiled back.

"To find food, she said she'd-"

"Pete, guess what! I found a banana tree, and-" Penny stopped dead in her tracks at the mouth of the cave when she saw the stranger. Nora turned around and saw Penny standing there, rooted in fear.

"You must be Pete's sister." She said quietly. Penny swallowed and looked at Pete, who didn't seem the least bit frightened or concerned. She knew right away. She wasn't sure if it was their twin instinct, or from the simple look on his face, but she knew he liked her, even _trusted _her.

"Pete." Penny said quietly, trying to read the expression on her brother's face, hoping for some kind of explanation. Pete swallowed.

"This is Nora." He said quietly. Penny just stared at him, wide-eyed, while Nora turned to her.

"What's your name?" She asked gently. Penny shifted her attention and stared at the woman, but never said a word.

"Her name's Penny." Pete offered. Penny turned back and glared at her brother. What was _wrong_ with him? Nora smiled at Penny.

"That's a nice name. I was just telling Pete I have chowder on the stove. It'll be nice and hot, and you two are more than welcome to have some. If you'd like to come up." She said. Penny shook her head.

"No, we wouldn't." She said, and walked past Nora toward the back of the cave, where Elliott was still hiding. She expected Pete would be right behind her, but when Penny turned around, she saw that Pete was still sitting on the rock, looking from Nora to Penny. Penny stared at him.

"What are you doing, Pete?" She hissed, as she approached him, ignoring Nora's presence. Pete looked confused, almost torn, as he turned away from Nora, facing Penny.

"She's nice, Penny, and besides, I'm hungry. It'd be nice to have something warm to eat, something _real._" Pete said in a low whisper, hoping Nora wouldn't hear their conversation. Nora took the hint that the kids were having a private conversation, and took a step back. Penny shook her head.

"Bananas are real food, Pete." Penny said bitterly. "Besides, do you even _know_ this woman? You're acting like you trust her. She's a _stranger!_ How do you the people in the town didn't _send_ her?"

"Penny, maybe she can help us. We've got to be able to trust _somebody_." Pete said.

"No, Pete, we can't trust nobody." Penny replied, and turned to head back to the back of the cave. Still, Pete wouldn't follow.

"Are you coming?" Nora asked both Pete and Penny. Penny turned back to stare at Pete and Nora She couldn't believe this was happening. Pete actually looked like he was _considering_ it. Penny shook her head.

"But Pen..." Pete tried.

"Fine Pete, go!" Penny said angrily, turning away, crossing her arms angrily. Pete breathed out.

"Penny, why can't we both go?" He asked.

"Pete, I'm not going! You shouldn't either, but it's not like you listen to me anyway! So fine! Do what you want! You know where to find me!" Penny screamed.

"Penny, you can't stay here, Nora says the tide comes in here pretty high. She says it's dangerous!" Pete replied fearfully.

"I'm. Not. Going. Anywhere!" Penny said between her teeth. She sat down on a rock, and never turned around. She heard Pete scramble down off his own rock, and head toward the cave mouth.

"Penny, if you change your mind, we'll be up in the lighthouse." Nora's quiet voice echoed against the cave walls. Penny only shook her head, never turning around. She could sense Pete staring at her back, but he left anyway. Penny waited a while before she peeked over her shoulder and saw the cave was empty. Pete left, he _actually_ went with that complete stranger. She sighed to herself, feeling angry with herself, and angry with Pete. How could he? How could he trust a complete stranger? Penny felt sick.

"Elliott." She called, and Elliott obediently flew out of the shadows, a smile on his face, mumbling something. Penny rolled her eyes.

"No she is _not_ nice! Anyway, I don't trust her! I want you to follow Pete, but make sure you're invisible. Just make sure he's safe for a while, okay?" She said. Elliott muttered something.

"Of course I'll be okay! It's _him_ I'm worried about. Just make sure he's safe, and make sure he gets back here safe." Penny snapped. Elliott hesitated, but finally flew out of the cave. Penny sighed, as she pulled a banana off the bunch she had found, and started eating it, alone in the cave. It wasn't the same without Pete.

As she waited for Elliott, Penny had nothing else to do, but sit in the cave, all by herself, and cry.


	5. Chapter 5: Pete

**Chapter Five: Pete**

Pete, on the other hand, already had a bowl of chowder in front of him, and it was everything he could do to remember his manners, and not eat too fast. But Nora's chowder was _amazing!_ Pete couldn't remember the last time he had a meal this good.

What a nice woman Nora was, Pete thought to himself. No sooner had they gotten into the lighthouse, had she suggested he change into something else so Nora could wash his clothes. Now Pete was in an extra-large shirt of some kind, he had asked where Nora got it, and she said it was her fathers, who was at the bar.

Pete felt bad, as he ate the chowder. He couldn't stop thinking about Penny. She was down in the cave, all by herself, while he was up here, with wonderful food, clean clothes, and a warm building. Pete wondered if it was starting to get cold outside.

On the other hand, maybe if Pete could talk to Nora, and figure out more about her, he could convince Penny they could trust her. Maybe she could help them. Pete didn't know for sure, but anyone who was this nice had to be trustworthy. It only made sense.

Pete scraped the last bit of chowder out of his bowl and smiled to himself. As he licked his lips, Nora came back down from tending to the lighthouse, and saw that he had finished.

"You must have been hungry. Would you like some more?" Nora asked. Pete smiled.

"Oh, no thank you. That was plenty." He replied politely. Nora nodded, and her face grew serious.

"I want to talk to you, Pete. You and Penny, are you all on your own?" She asked. Pete hesitated, but only for a second. The hesitation only came because of Penny. He wanted to tell Nora everything; he had a feeling she wanted to help, but if Penny were here, she wouldn't tell Nora anything, because she didn't trust anybody. Pete had a good feeling. _Maybe if Nora really is going to help us, Penny will finally believe that we can trust someone._ Pete thought to himself.

"Yeah, Penny and me, we...we kinda...ran away." Pete said, feeling his heart racing inside his chest. Not because he was afraid of Nora, but because he was afraid of what Penny would say if she found out what he was saying. _Good thing she's still in the cave._ Thinking of that made him feel guilty.

"Why did you run away?" Nora asked. "Don't you think your parents will be worried?"

"We don't have parents. We're...we're orphans. We live with the Gogans. They told us that they own us. They have a piece of paper that says so. They say they bought us fair and square, and so we gotta do what they say. They always tell us it's against the law if we ever leave." Pete explained. Nora puckered her brow, as she noticed a purple circle on the back of Pete's neck, as he had turned his head.

"Where did you get that bruise?" She asked gently. Pete swallowed, hesitating again, only thinking of Penny. He went with it, this was a risk, he knew it, but he trusted Nora.

"Mr. Gogan. I was milking the cow and I missed the bucket. He...he got mad." He said quietly. Nora looked worried, as she noticed more bruises along Pete's arms.

"Does he do that a lot?" She asked.

"All the time." Pete replied honestly.

"What about Penny?" Nora asked. "Does he hurt her too?"

"Yeah, but it's weird with Penny. She used to cry when they hit her, but she doesn't anymore. She acts like it don't bother her." Pete replied. Nora breathed out slowly. She hadn't expected it to be this bad.

"Do you think the Gogans are looking for you two?" She asked. Pete shrugged.

"Maybe. They chased after us for a bit, but then they left. We tried runnin' away once before, but the orphan owners found us and made us go back. That's why Penny wants us to keep running. The last time we ran away, the Gogans hurt us real bad, especially Penny 'cause it was her idea. I don't know what happened, but I didn't see her for a whole _day!_ But this time, we're just gonna keep running. We don't wanna go back there, ever!" He replied, lowering his head a little. Nora smiled, and smoothed his hair gently.

"Don't worry, Pete, you'll be safe here." She said. Pete sighed.

"You're so nice, Nora." He looked down. "It's just...I'm worried about Penny. I wish she had come too. I don't want her to stay down in the cave. You said it's not safe." Nora breathed out, as she gave a small nod.

"It isn't safe, Pete. Tell you what, why don't you stay here tonight, tomorrow morning we'll figure out what to do. I'll go down to the cave and try to talk to Penny." Nora said. Pete grinned from ear to ear.

"You will?" He asked, feeling hopeful. Maybe if Nora could tell Penny that Pete told her everything, and she was letting him stay for the night, Penny would trust her too. Oh, he hoped!

Nora waited as Pete changed into a longer nightshirt and then showed him to a bunk bed he could use for the night.

When Pete was snuggled into bed, he yawned widely, and smiled at Nora.

"I never thought I'd ever meet anyone as nice as you, Nora. Penny always told me it would be just me and her, and everybody would be like the Gogans, but I never really believed her. I knew there just had to be _someone _who we could trust." Pete said with a tired smile. Nora gave him a small kiss on the head.

"Get some sleep. I'll head down to the caves and be back soon." She whispered. Pete nodded and rested his head on the pillow. Nora tiptoed out of the lighthouse, grabbing her jacket along the way.

Pete hoped Penny would listen to Nora, and he wasn't sure he would be able to sleep until he knew that Penny was safe and sound. He breathed out, and that was when he heard tapping on the window.

At first, he thought he was imagining it, but when he turned around and saw a familiar green figure standing outside the window, Pete grinned to himself. _Elliott!_

Pete jumped from the bed and ran to the window, opening it wide. Elliott, fully visible, smiled widely when he saw Pete.

"Elliott, it's good to see you!" Pete exclaimed. Elliott laughed modestly.

"Oh Elliott, it's so wonderful here! Nora's so nice to me. She gave me chowder, she washed my clothes and she's letting me stay here tonight. Nobody's ever been this nice to me. Except for you and Penny. I think we can really trust her. And guess what? She's on her way to see if Penny will come too! Penny's just gotta trust her if she knows I'm safe and okay, right Elliott?" Pete asked excitedly. Elliott didn't look as excited, as he mumbled something. Pete sighed.

"She's...she's upset?" Pete felt tears stinging his eyes. "She sent you to check on me? Where is she?"

Elliott told him.

"Still in the cave. But Elliott, it's not safe there."

Elliott said he knew.

"But Nora will make her change her mind!"

Elliott rumbled his response.

"She won't? She was crying? Elliott, I don't know what to do. I love Penny, and I don't want her to be alone, but Nora can help us, I just _know_ it. Can't you just tell Penny to believe me, just this once?"

Elliott breathed out.

Pete sighed.

"I hope you're wrong, Elliot." He felt tears in his eyes. "Just this once, I hope she listens to me."


	6. Chapter 6: Penny

**Chapter Six: Penny**

Penny had dried the last of her tears. She didn't think she had any left to shed. Anger at Pete, fear for his safety, sadness because she was lonely, she couldn't make sense of all of her feelings, but those were the major ones.

She kept peeking her head out of the cave, looking longingly at the lighthouse she knew Pete was in. She kept hoping she would see Pete running down the hill, convincing Penny this had been a bad idea from the start. She kept hoping Elliott would return soon to tell Penny that Pete was on his way, and they would fly away from Passamaquoddy. But every time Penny peeked out of the cave, all she saw was an empty beach, and the lone lighthouse, lights all on. Penny breathed out, returning to the cave for what seemed like the hundredth time. She settled against a hard rock, and crossed her arms tightly for warmth. It was really cold. If Pete were here, they could at least keep each other warm. She shook away the urge to cry again. No, he would come back. He _had_ to.

Penny thought she could feel sleep coming upon her, but she forced herself to pry her eyes open. She knew she couldn't sleep until Elliott came back. How safe would she really be, alone in a dark cave, without a dragon keeping watch?

She stifled a yawn, and that was when she heard something outside. Excitedly, she jumped to her feet, and stumbled to the mouth of the cave, where she peeked out, hoping she would see Pete.

But it wasn't Pete.

It was Nora, walking down the lighthouse steps, toward the cave.

Penny ducked back into the cave, and leaned her back up against the rocky cave wall. She swallowed. What was _she_ doing here? What if she had called the orphan owners, and they were on their way to get them? What had she done with Pete? What if she had hurt him, and now she was coming to finish the job? It wasn't as though she could leave Penny as a witness, Penny knew _that_ much at least.

She peered out the cave again, and Nora was coming closer. No doubt, she was coming for Penny, but _why?_

With no sight of Elliott, or Pete, Penny had no choice but to hide.

She ran into the cave, as deep as she could get. She saw a shadow forming in the mouth of the cave, and she quickly wedged herself between two rocky walls. She could feel the rock formation cutting into her arms and legs, but she quickly ignored the blood. Right now, she had to make sure Nora didn't find her. She quickly quieted her breathing, as Nora entered the cave. Penny couldn't see her, but she could hear her footsteps against the granite cave floor.

There was silence for a little while, as Nora was obviously trying to figure out where Penny had gone. Penny forced herself to hold her breath as much as she could. Nora walked in a little closer.

"Penny?" She called. Penny closed her eyes. She didn't know why, it wasn't as though closing her eyes was going to make Nora go away. Instinct, she guessed. She always closed her eyes when the Gogans went looking for her, especially when Willie was looking. Penny shuddered.

"Penny, are you in here?" Nora called again, stopping not too far from where Penny was wedged into the tight space. Penny knew she was close, because she could hear her voice reverberating against the walls. Penny didn't budge an inch. Any movement could be heard.

Nora sighed.

"Well, maybe you've left this cave, for your sake, I hope you have. It's not safe, but if you _are_ here, just hiding, Pete is really worried about you. He wants you to be safe. _I_ want you to be safe. This cave is dangerous, Penny. If you're here, why don't you come on out and come up to the lighthouse with us? Pete's staying the night, and there's an extra bed for you too. He misses you, Penny. I know you miss him too." She said in a gentle voice. Penny didn't budge, she wasn't going _anywhere._ Let Nora think Penny had left the cave.

Nora let out another sigh.

"I guess you aren't here anymore." She said, and she left the cave.

Penny waited a good while before she emerged from her hiding spot, in case Nora hadn't really left. But the cave was silent now, and had been for a while. Nora was gone.

Penny shimmied out of the crooked crevase, and winced. The cuts were deeper than she had thought. She breathed out angrily, throwing a rock hard against the wall. She looked at the cuts again, and shook her head. Forcing the tears back, she ignored them. _They'll heal, you've had worse._ She told herself.

She curled up against her rock again, clutching herself for warmth, as she thought about what Nora had said. _Pete is really worried about you. He wants you to be safe._ Then she remembered the rest of what Nora had said. _I want you to be safe._ Penny felt angry. What was Nora _doing?_ What was her motivation for keeping Pete? For pretending to want to help them both? Why had she come down to the caves to talk to Penny? Had Pete sent her?

_He misses you, Penny. I know you miss him too._ Nora had said.

Penny sighed, feeling a tear escape from her eye. She brushed it away angrily, not wanting to admit she missed him too.

Suddenly, an invisible force entered the cave, and Penny knew Elliott was back. She didn't stand up, she just stared at him as he allowed himself to become visible again. Elliott offered Penny a small smile, but Penny just glared at him.

"What took you so long?" She spat. Elliott looked taken aback, even hurt for a moment, before he spoke.

"You were talking to Pete?" Penny was suddenly interested. "What did he say?"

Elliott hesitated, but Penny's raised eyebrow prompted him to spit it out.

Penny exhaled loudly.

"I knew it. I _knew_ he was the one who sent her down here. Doesn't he know any better? Is he really that stupid?" Penny shouted, which earned her a sharp tone from Elliott.

"I'm sorry, Elliott, but what is he thinking? Doesn't he realize that she could be _dangerous?_ That she could send us back to the Gogans?" Penny yelled. She listened to Elliott, as she crossed her arms defiantly.

"So what if he trusts her? I don't! He shouldn't either. Hasn't he learned _anything?_" Penny leaned back against the rock really roughly, feeling the anger consuming her.

Elliott was silent for a long while, before he reached out his tail, and placed it under Penny's chin, lifting up her face so he could talk to her, face to face.

Penny listened, tears glistening in her eyes.

She sniffed.

"I don't _know_ why I'm like this, Elliott. I _know_ I'm different from Pete. I _know_ I should have a little faith, but I _can't!_ I'm trying to be realistic, Elliott. Pete hasn't had to deal with the things I have. He's still safe from a lot of things. I...I wasn't." Penny was crying now, but trying to suppress the tears. "I want him to have faith, but I want to protect him too. This is just...this is just a bad idea. I just..." Penny couldn't even finish, she was crying so much. Elliott let out a small groan, and with his tail, gripped Penny around the middle, and eased her against his stomach, where he held her. She never held him back, but she was too tired and weak to push him away. As she cried out the last of her tears, her entire body was wracked with exhaustion, and she fell asleep, warm at last.


	7. Chapter 7: The Next Morning

**Chapter Seven: The Next Morning**

_"Penny! When I find you, yer gonna wish you had never been born!" _

_"Come here, Penny. Why don't you come on over 'ere to yer Uncle Willie?" _

_"I thought I told you to clean the pig pen! Yer hide is done for!" _

_"You'd better pray you survive this lickin'!"_

_"I'm gonna beat you so bad, yer not gonna be able to sit down for a month!"_

_"Uncle Willie told yeh to come 'ere!"_

_"Thought yeh could hide from us, did yeh? You'll regret that!"_

_"Brat!"_

_"Dirty orphan!" _

_"Slacker!"_

_"Lazy slug!"_

_"Come 'ere Penny!"_

_"Yer done for!"_

* * *

Penny's eyes opened and she let out a gasp. She held her breath as she stared at the rocky ceiling above her. As her sense of hearing came around, she realized she could still hear the waves carressing the shore.

She let her breath out slowly, as she wiped a stream of sweat from her brow. Dreams, only dreams. _More like nightmares. _She sighed, as she forced herself to sit up. She swallowed, forcing away the images and voices swarming her mind.

Clearing her throat, feeling herself parched for thirst, she turned in a circle, trying to locate the large green dragon.

"Elliott?" She called, feeling her throat burn with thirst. She squinted her eyes from the sun, when she looked toward the mouth of the cave. Still no sign of him.

She stood up and felt her back ache. Sleeping on the ground of a cave was less than satisfying, but she wasn't going to complain. At least she didn't have to wake up to the sound of Mrs. Gogan hollering.

As she stretched her arms over her head, she replayed yesterday's events over in her mind with a yawn. Falling from the apple tree, finding Passamaquoddy, getting chased by the townsfolk, finding the cave, and then...her.

Penny sulked.

Pete hadn't returned. He had spent the night in the lighthouse, left Penny by herself (well, except for Elliott of course), and he still wasn't back. Elliott claimed he was safe, but why was Pete trusting this stranger so strongly?

Penny sighed, running her dirty fingers through her straggly hair as she walked out of the cave into the bright sunlight. She rubbed her eyes roughly and looked around. Still no sign of Elliott or Pete. She felt her stomach grumbling. She was so hungry. The last thing she had to eat was a banana the day before. She thought jealously of Pete, who was probably being fed like a king. She shrugged it off. He would be sorry. That Nora woman was bad news all around.

Penny began walking up the beach, hoping Elliott would come back soon so they could find something to eat. While she waited, she removed her shoes and stepped up against the waves, feeling them grab at her ankles. She shivered, for the morning water was cold. As she stared at the horizon, she wished Pete were there. This would be so much better with Pete.

But even thinking about him made her seeth with anger.

As she turned around to scan the beach for signs of Elliott again, she realized the front door to the lighthouse was opening, and that woman was coming out. Instinctively, Penny ran from the water through the sand, feeling the sand stick to her wet feet as she found a safe place behind a tree not far up the beach.

She waited, as Nora came out of the lighthouse. She wore a bright smile on her face, as she turned to talk to someone who was just coming out of the lighthouse behind her. Penny froze, feeling all kinds of resentment and anger rising up inside of her as she knew who was going to walk out of that door. Sure enough, there was Pete, in _clean_ clothes, and a smile on his face! Penny bit her lip to keep herself from yelling out.

She couldn't hear what they were saying, but it didn't matter. What mattered was that Pete was laughing as Nora was talking, and as they began walking down the beach toward the town, Pete grabbed a hold of Nora's extended hand, and off they went.

Penny waited a little while before she emerged from the tree and watched them disappear. She hadn't even noticed the tears spilling down her cheeks.

That was when she heard the sympathetic voice of a dragon behind her. She shook her head stubbornly and scrubbed her tears away.

"No, Elliott, I'm _fine!"_ She rounded on him and stared at him, even though he was invisible. "Where _were_ you this morning?"

Elliott was taken aback, as he tried to explain.

"Checking on Pete?" She yelled. "Pete seems fine on his own!"

She crossed her arms and turned away.

Silence followed for a while, as Penny began walking down the beach back toward the caves. Elliott finally cleared his throat and tried to speak again.

Penny swallowed and stopped. She turned and looked longingly down the beach, where Pete had disappeared with Nora. She sighed.

"No Elliott," She paused, "I think we've already lost him."

* * *

Meanwhile, Pete and Nora were headed back into Passamaquoddy, because Nora wanted to buy Pete some new clothes. Pete had to admit, it was much better going into town with Nora, because people didn't seem to recognize him as the boy who had been chased away by a mob of townspeople with his sister only a day earlier. Pete smiled.

"I've never been shopping before." He said cheerfully, looking eagerly in the windows of some of the shops. Nora smiled.

"Well, we'll have to change that, won't we?" She asked. Pete smiled with a nod, as he continued alongside of Nora, feeling so happy he could skip.

Well, almost.

He still thought about Penny. He sighed, and quickly changed the subject.

"I really like Lampie! He's so much fun. I'm glad I got to meet your dad this morning, Nora." He said with another grin.

"That's why I love him! He's a fun guy." Nora agreed. "I'm surprised he was up as early as he was. He usually sleeps late. He's out a lot at night." Pete sighed.

"I wanted to go see Penny this morning, but when Elliott came to visit me at the window, he told me it wasn't a good idea." He paused. "He said Penny's mad. He said he's trying to cheer her up and show her the bright side of things, but she won't. I knew she wouldn't. Penny isn't good at seeing the bright side of anything." Nora decided to play along.

"Where did Elliott say she was?" She asked.

"Still in the caves." Pete replied.

"Well, I don't know Pete. I went down there last night to talk to her, like I told you I would, and she wasn't there. I didn't see her." Nora pointed out. Pete's eyes widened.

"Oh that doesn't mean she wasn't there." He said quickly. "Penny's got real good at hiding. She...she hides all the times at the Gogans." Pete grew silent. Nora pressed further, stopping in the street, and easing Pete down on a bench on the side of the road.

"Pete, why are you and Penny so different?" She asked. Pete just stared at her and breathed out.

"I don't know. She never used to be like this. When we were living at the orphanage, she and I were so much alike. We'd play games together, climb trees, laugh and have fun. It didn't matter that we didn't have parents, because we had each other, and everything was okay.

"But then, the Gogans bought us. That was when Penny started to be like this. I don't know what made it so different for her than me, but she takes it different than I do. I don't like to get beaten, but I still try to have hope, like she used to tell me to have when we were real little. But she stopped hoping. And then she got real angry all the time. And she stopped cryin', and she started yellin' sometimes, and she tries to act all grown-up, but she's still a kid, just like me." He explained as best he could, taking breaths in between. Nora listened whole-heartedly, trying to figure things out. She didn't know much about children, but it sounded like Penny had isolated herself from any kind of emotion or hope to protect herself from getting hurt. The Gogans had really done a number on her, and judging by some of the things Pete had said about Penny, Nora also guessed there was more to Penny's life with the Gogans than even _Pete_ knew about. That scared Nora, but she couldn't figure out how she was going to reach out to a little girl who was unreachable. Her only means of contact was her brother, Pete, and right now, she was mad at him, and judging by their interaction in the cave last night, Penny wasn't about to listen to Pete's opinion. Nora just sighed.

"It sounds like you two have been through an awful lot of hard stuff, Pete." She affirmed. Pete only nodded.

"I feel safe with you, Nora. With you and Lampie. Thank you for everything you're doing for me. But...I don't think I can stay much longer. I...I need to be with Penny." He tried to explain, trying his best not to sound offensive. Nora only smiled.

"Pete, we're going to do everything we can to help you both. For now, don't worry. We'll buy you some new clothes and brainstorm some ideas to help Penny too, okay?" She asked. Pete nodded, seeming to be okay with this idea, and he jumped up from the bench with Nora, following after her. Nora was glad Pete seemed to be in higher spirits, but her mind went back to Penny. That girl had looked so cold, so grownup, so lost and defensive.

As Pete looked through racks of clothing in the store, Nora tried to think of ways she could reach the girl. Nora wasn't one to give up easily, and she wasn't going to give up until she knew that both of those children were safe.


	8. Chapter 8: High Tides

**Chapter Eight: High Tide**

Penny spent the day on the beach, near the caves so she could run inside and hide if any people showed up. It was as though the whole town had cornered them the other day - she didn't want to take any chances of being caught. Besides, she was waiting for Pete to get back from wherever he had gone with Nora. She kept hoping he would come to his senses and quit this game he was playing. Running away wasn't something you went around telling everybody. For all Penny knew, Nora already called the orphan owners, and they were on their way to collect Pete and Penny and bring them back to the Gogans. Penny wasn't going to let that happen. She couldn't go back there. Not anymore. Not ever again.

Elliott had gone off again. Penny reckoned he was getting tired of Penny's bad attitude. Elliott was used to spending most of his time with Pete, laughing and telling stupid stories and fairy tales. Penny was beyond that, now. They didn't exist - no use pretending otherwise.

Penny threw rocks into the ocean, and realized the wind was picking up and the waves were crashing heavily against the shore. She didn't know much about these sorts of things, but it almost looked as though a storm were going to be hitting Passamaquoddy fairly soon. Penny gathered she should get inside the cave.

As she walked toward the cave, she was beginning to feel very lonely. Pete had only been gone overnight, but the heavy weight she felt of not having him with her was strange and alien to her. They had been together, inseparable from birth, and now, he was gone. She began to wonder if she would ever have him back again.

She turned around one last time to see if she could make out Elliott anywhere, and especially Pete, but neither one could be seen.

Feeling dejected and alone, Penny let out a small sigh, and entered the cave with a tear rolling down her cheek. Feeling lonely, lost, frightened and hungry, Penny curled up into a ball in the back corner of the cave, and without even meaning to, fell asleep.

* * *

Elliott was flying over Passamaquoddy, making sure he remembered to keep himself invisible while he did it. Pete wouldn't be happy if he was flying around fully visible, and Penny would have a fit. The children were so different from one another, Elliott thought, especially for twins.

He was trying to find Pete in the town. He had been flying for a little more than an hour now, and still couldn't find him. He wasn't the least bit concerned, though. He was with Nora, and Pete trusted Nora. They were shopping for new clothes for Pete.

But Elliott didn't plan on telling Penny that.

Penny was so angry about the whole situation that Elliott did everything in his power not to bring it up at all. The truth was, Elliott was happy for Pete. His job was to protect the twins and make sure they were safe. Nora was safe, and so Pete was safe, but Penny was stubborn. If Penny would just open herself up and accept Nora the way Pete did, Elliott's job would be complete. He knew the twins couldn't go back to the Gogans, not after everything Pete had told him about them. Still, Elliott was sure there was more to the story than Pete knew. Penny wouldn't talk about it, but she cringed anytime Pete mentioned Willie, the Gogans' son. Then when Elliott or Pete would ask her if she was okay, she'd grow extremely defensive and isolated herself for a long time. Elliott didn't know how to help her. He'd never had a kid like that before.

He continued his search for Pete, and finally found him below, walking back toward the lighthouse with Nora, wearing a new set of clothes, and even a new hat. Elliott smiled to himself - he looked so dashing. He had hardly recognized the boy without the dirty overalls and worn out shoes. Elliott couldn't help but notice the extremely happy smile that Pete wore - that was his best attribute. Elliott didn't know much about Nora, but she made Pete happy; that made Elliott happy.

But as Elliott began to fly back to the beach, hot on Pete's and Nora's tail, he couldn't help but wonder what would make Penny happy.

* * *

"Oh boy! I can't wait to show Elliott my new clothes!" Pete said as he skipped alongside of Nora as they walked back to beach together. Nora laughed as she watched the happy boy.

"Well, what about Penny?" Nora asked. Pete's smile faded, and he slowed down to a normal walk.

"I think she'll get mad." He admitted honestly. Nora sighed.

"Well, Pete. What do you think we can do to have Penny join us? You do know I want to help you _both_, right?" She asked, turning to face Pete. Pete nodded sullenly.

"I know you do. Elliott knows you do, but Penny doesn't." Pete breathed out. "She thinks everybody's going to hurt her."

"So we have to think of a way to convince her I'm not going to." Nora decided. Pete shrugged.

"I don't know if it's going to work, Nora." He paused. "She doesn't trust anybody."

Nora considered Pete for a moment, as the two continued walking again.

"Why do _you_ trust me, Pete?" She asked suddenly.

Pete was silent for a moment, as he scrunched up his face in thought. Nora kept her smile to herself.

"Because you wanted to help me." Pete concluded. "And because you're nice. Nobody's ever been this nice to us before. Not even the orphan owners. I don't know why Penny can't see it."

"Maybe Penny just has a different way of dealing with things." Nora suggested. Pete shrugged.

"I guess." He replied. "I just wish I knew why. She's my sister, and she doesn't tell me _anything._ I tell _her_ everything."

"I know you're frustrated, Pete, but you have to give Penny time. Everybody's different, you know? You just have to keep remembering she loves you very much. Just because she doesn't trust me, doesn't mean she's stopped caring about you. I'm sure she's just worried about you."

"But why can't she just _believe_ me?" He crossed his arms. "Sometimes, she just treats me like a kid." Nora had to laugh.

"But you _are_ a kid, Pete." She said. "And so is she." Pete shook his head.

"But she doesn't act like it." He argued. Nora took a hold of his hand as they grew closer to the beach.

"Things are hard to understand right now, Pete, but one day, everything will make sense as you look back." She explained. Pete looked down at his feet.

"I wish I could understand them now." He said moodily. Nora nodded.

"I know you do, Pete." She smiled as a thought crossed her mind. She let go of his hand. "Come on, I'll race you to that tree!"

The two of them ran down the beach, the wind blowing hard against their faces. Nora was sure she felt rain on the wind. Pete's laughter rang through her ears like music as he ran ahead of her. That kid was something else, she thought. She only wished she could get to know Penny too. That girl was so reserved, so afraid, and Nora wanted nothing more than to hug it all away. For both of them.

"I beat you!" Pete called, as he grabbed on to a higher tree branch, and swung from it. Nora laughed as she approached him.

"You did! Why, you're faster than-" Her smile dropped. Her stomach sank. She hadn't realized the tide had come in, as a result of the incoming storm. The tide had come in fast, and it was so high, it covered the mouth of that old cave.

_Penny!_

Nora's heart skipped a beat.

"Nora, what's the matter?" Pete asked worriedly. He didn't need an answer. He followed her gaze and saw what she had seen. Pete's stomach churned and tears began to blur his vision.

"PENNY!" He shouted, as he ran toward the cave. Nora ran with him, but grabbed a hold of Pete when he began to jump into the water.

"You can't, Pete, the tide is too high!" Nora said, holding him back. She looked around quickly, hoping to find someone who could help.

"Penny can't swim!" Pete shouted, tears blurring his vision.

"Pete, you need to go down the beach and find the coastguard!" Nora shouted, as she pulled off her shoes. "I'm going to try and get in there!" Pete was silent for a moment, as he turned around.

"No, Elliott will get her!" Pete said, as he looked up in the sky at something that wasn't there. "Elliott! Penny's in the cave!" Nora shook her head. Now wasn't the time for make-belief!

"Pete, get the coastguard! Penny could be hurt." Nora took a step into the water, but Pete took hold of her hand.

"Elliott's gone inside to get her!" He shouted back. Nora pulled her hand away.

"Pete, not now!"

Meanwhile, Elliott had entered the cave. He could stand up in the cave, but the water was up to his neck. That worried him immediately. Elliott was large, and the twins were only as tall as his belly button. He wasn't sure what he would find. Could Penny even swim? He had never bothered to ask.

Elliott called her name once, twice, but heard nothing. The water in the cave had risen fast, and worse, it was sloshing around rapidly, from the tide that was still coming in. Elliott began to worry. He couldn't find her.

He held his breath, and stuck his head under the water, straining to open his eyes in the darkness. He squinted a few times to try and locate Penny, but he couldn't find her.

Time was running out.

He knew if Penny had still been conscious, she would have called out to him when he had called out to him. Only two options remained. She had either gotten out of the cave, and she was somewhere else,

or she was still in the cave.

Elliott sloshed further into the cave, his eyes scanning the dark water for any sign of life, any sign of Penny.

Then he saw a mass of straggly brown hair.

Panicking, Elliott ran forward as well as he could with the weight of the water pushing him back. As he got closer, he saw Penny's body floating on top of the water, her face turned down, and she wasn't moving.

Elliott reached out and pulled her out of the water. Her eyes were closed, and her face was a shade of blue.

He called her name as he held her close to his chest. He hadn't noticed before now how cold the water was. Penny's fingertips were purple.

He called her name again, louder this time, but still no response. He lifted her up to his ear, and felt a sting of relief when he heard a small, strangled breath coming from her mouth.

Elliott didn't know what to do, but he knew Nora would. He had to get Penny out of this cave.

"But Elliott's getting her!" Pete tried again.

"Pete, please!" Nora pleaded, but then Pete pointed past her, eyes wide with fright.

"There he is! Penny!" He ran forward, and when Nora turned around, she only saw Penny lying in the sand, outside of the cave. She hadn't seen Elliott exit the cave and place Penny gently in the sand.

Nora felt her heart drop as Pete ran forward toward his sister. Nora ran behind him and dropped to her knees in front of Penny. Pete was shaking her, but Nora took his hands and gently placed them in his lap.

Nora leaned over Penny and placed her face up to the girl's mouth. She felt the hot breath on her cheek, and Nora sighed a breath of relief.

"It's okay, Pete." Nora hadn't realized how shaky her voice sounded. "She's breathing."

Pete was crying, as he held Penny's hand. Nora hardly even heard Pete's quiet whisper to something that wasn't there.

"Thanks Elliott."

"Pete, I need you to run as fast as you can to Passamaquoddy and get the doctor!" Nora looked up at Pete. "I'm going to take her up to the lighthouse and get her warm, okay?"

Pete didn't move. He had heard Nora, but staring at his sister, who wasn't moving, wasn't responding, frightened him more than anything in the world. Nora sympathized with the boy. This was the only family he had.

"Pete." She said quietly. Pete finally looked up, tears rolling down his cheek, as he gripped his sister's hand.

"She's going to be okay, but I need you to go get the doctor." Nora said seriously. Pete choked out his words.

"I...I can't leave her." He cried. Nora felt tears stinging her own eyes. She reached out her hand and brushed Pete's cheek.

"I know, Pete. But I promise I'll keep her safe until you get back." She said gently.

Pete considered her for a moment, and his trust in her won over. He gave a small nod, and stood up. He scrubbed his tears away with his sleeve, and turned to the empty space beside him.

"Please come with me, Elliott." He whispered. Nora sighed to herself. The poor boy had been through so much, he must have created the imaginary dragon to compensate for everything he didn't have.

Pete began running down the beach as fast as his legs could carry him. Nora leaned over, and scooped tiny Penny up into her arms, and headed for the lighthouse. As she walked, she peered over her shoulder and stared at the cave. No matter how thankful she was that Penny had somehow managed to get out of the cave, she couldn't help but wonder how it had happened. She supposed it was a miracle.

Still, she had a strange feeling it was something more than that.


	9. Chapter 9: Relief

**Chapter Nine: Relief**

Penny was shivering.

Nora continued to press hot compresses on the girl's head as she waited for Pete to come back with the doctor. Nora had brought Penny into the lighthouse, and had her settled in bed, covered up with thick blankets. Penny wasn't waking up, but at least she was breathing. Still, Nora had no medical experience; she didn't know what was wrong with Penny, but judging the ice cold feeling she got from touching Penny's cheek, she knew the water must have been freezing.

Nora tried not to think about what Penny's reaction would be when she woke up. _If she wakes up..._

Nora wouldn't think like that. The girl was breathing. That was a good sign.

She pulled out another blanket and put it over top of Penny, hoping she would stop shivering. Her face was so blue - it hadn't even been that cold of a day outside, but that water...Nora didn't want to think about it.

As she watched over Penny, waiting for Pete and the doctor, Nora replayed today's events over in her mind. Pete had kept saying over and over again that his dragon, Elliott, was the one who pulled Penny out of the cave. But that was preposterous. Dragons didn't exist.

But _somebody_ had pulled Penny out of the cave. One minute she wasn't there, and the next, she was on the shore. It was impossible.

She rubbed her forehead, trying to figure it all out, when the door banged open. Nora jumped to her feet, as Pete came running in, the doctor on his tail. Nora felt immediate relief.

"Oh, thank you for coming Dr. Jennis." She said as she led the way over to where Penny was still out cold. Pete stayed by Nora's side as the doctor went straight to work, pulling instruments out of his bag. Pete felt Nora's arm on his shoulders, as he stared at his twin sister worriedly. Her face was a funny color and she was shaking, like she was really cold. Pete, with tears in his eyes, looked up at Nora.

"Is...is she gonna...die?" He asked, his voice strained. Nora shook her head, kneeling down to face him levelly.

"No, Pete, she isn't going to die." She said, unsure as to how qualified she was to make that judgment, but she couldn't tell him anything else. It would be too painful for him right now.

Pete was silent as Dr. Jennis examined Penny, and Nora stood by nervously, trying not to let it show. She had to be strong for Pete. He must be so scared right now.

Nora was able to convince Pete to come into the kitchen for a bit so she could make him some cocoa. She figured it was better if Pete didn't have to watch his sister like that.

Nora tried to engage Pete in a conversation, hoping to distract him, but Pete only gave non-commital answers to be polite, and sunk back into silence, sipping his hot cocoa quietly.

Nora felt her anxiety rising when Dr. Jennis came out of the room where Penny was, and looked at Nora. Nora understood and told Pete to stay here, she would talk to Dr. Jennis.

Once the two were out of earshot from Pete, Nora cleared her throat.

"Is she okay, doctor?" She asked. Dr. Jennis sighed.

"She will be fine, although I must impress upon you the seriousness of that cave, Nora. The little girl should not have been playing in there." He explained, looking confused. "Who are these children, anyway?" Nora sighed.

"I'm just taking care of them for now, Dr. Jennis." She said, not wanting to disclose too much information. He seemed to accept this.

"Penny will wake up soon. She has a high fever, but if you give her this medicine every few hours, it should go down. Wait until she wakes up to start her on it. Her body is simply protecting itself from the cold. Keep a warm compress on her forehead, and keep her bundled up. A hot water bottle might help too. Once her body temperature returns to normal, she should wake up. Send the boy for me if anything goes wrong, but let me assure you, the girl will be alright." He explained. Nora smiled, breathing out.

"Thank you, doctor." She said, taking the bottle of medicine he handed her. He gave her a simple nod and let himself out.

Nora smiled to herself, saying a silent pray of thanks.

She headed back into the kitchen, where Pete looked up expectantly. Nora gave him a reassuring smile.

"She's going to be just fine, Pete." She explained. "She's going to wake up soon."

Pete's face lit up and he jumped up from his seat, running at Nora with his arms wide open. She caught him up and held him close as he squeezed her. She laughed to herself as she stroked Pete's hair.

"Can I go see her?" He asked. Nora nodded.

"Of course." She paused. "I have some things I have to do here. Let me know when she wakes up, alright?" Pete nodded and ran back into the room where Penny was. Nora sighed to herself. She was beginning to feel nervous about what would happen when Penny woke up. She had been so angry about Pete leaving to go with Nora, and the way Pete talked about Penny's reluctance to trust people, Nora was worried. She feared Penny would try to run off the second she woke up. She hoped Pete would be able to convince her to stay, and get better. _Maybe while she's here, she'll see that she's safe, and that I don't want to hurt her._ Nora hoped for the best, and prayed Penny would accept her help.

* * *

Pete sat cross-legged at the end of Penny's bed, watching her cautiously. She had stopped shaking and her face wasn't a weird color anymore. Nora said Penny was going to be okay. Pete was so relieved. When he first saw her out on the beach, he had been so scared. He thought for sure she was going to die. But now she was okay.

Pete remembered back to when the twins were younger, living at the orphanage. Pete used to have a hard time falling asleep, and Penny would sing him a song - a song she couldn't remember where she had learned it from. Pete liked to believe she remembered being sung to by their real parents, before they died. It didn't matter that they were too young to remember them, but Penny must have learned the song from somewhere.

He took Penny's hand, but she didn't budge. She was still unconscious, so Pete began to sing silently.

"It's not easy to find someone who cares. It's not easy to find magic in pairs. I'm glad I found you, I love you, I won't let you get away. 'Cause it's not easy."

He heard another voice. Pete looked up and saw Elliott at the bedroom window.

"Elliott!" Pete called, running to the window with a grin. Elliott smiled back.

"Oh Elliott, you were great today. You saved Penny's life!" Pete said with a wide smile. Elliott turned pink around the cheeks and spoke shyly.

"She's going to be okay, Elliott. The doctor said so." He explained. Elliott's face lit up and he widened his grin, clapping his hands together loudly. Pete sighed.

"Do you think she's gonna be mad when she wakes up and she's here?" He asked. Elliott's face dropped, and spoke with narrow eyebrows. Pete nodded.

"I know she should be grateful to Nora, but it's _Penny._ She doesn't trust anybody. How can I convince her that Nora is really helping her?" He asked.

But Elliott didn't have an answer. And neither did Pete. They could only wait anxiously for Penny to wake up.


	10. Chapter 10: Waking Up

**Chapter Ten: Waking Up**

Nora watched from the doorway later that evening as Pete was fast asleep in the large bed next to Penny, who was still unconscious. The good news was that her forehead didn't feel as hot, her body had warmed up and she was no longer shivering. The doctor was right - she would be okay, she just had to wake up.

That was what Nora was afraid of.

She tried to think about how Penny would react when she found she was no longer in the caves, but rather in the one place she had refused to go all along, the place she had yelled at Pete for going to. Nora sighed.

She went and made herself a cup of coffee and sat down at her table, wondering where her father was. No doubt, at the bar again. She wouldn't consider her father an alcoholic, he just enjoyed his friends at the bar, and having a few drinks. At least he was a friendly drunk. He had taken to Pete quite nicely, and wanted to meet Penny too. Nora tried to explain her resistance, but her father was too kind to understand. He was under the impression that she would come around if only she met Nora and Lampy. Nora left it alone. Her dad wouldn't understand, Penny was too hurt to open up that easily.

Nora left Pete and Penny alone. It would be good for Penny to see Pete first. She only hoped Pete would be able to get Penny calm enough before Nora had to come in and give her medicine. She didn't know how _that_ was going to go either. Hopefully Pete would convince Penny that everything was going to be alright.

* * *

Pete wasn't really sleeping - just resting. He was _very_ tired, but he refused to fall asleep until Penny woke up. He couldn't just sleep, not when she needed him. She would no doubt wake up scared and probably not feel good either. He wanted to be there for her.

But he wondered how quickly she would make the connection - if Pete was there, then Nora would be too. Pete said a prayer for Penny's patience and understanding.

Elliott went back to the caves to get some sleep, but he promised he would be back soon to check on Penny. He was just as worried as Pete was, but now that they were both assured Penny was going to be okay, Elliott could at least get some sleep.

Not Pete, though. Penny was his twin. Her pain was his pain, and he wouldn't leave her side.

It wasn't long before Penny finally stirred, just a little. Pete's eyes popped open and he sat up, looking over. She had been asleep for so long, Pete just watched wide-eyed.

Penny, eyes still closed, shifted slightly, and coughed loudly. Pete's heart was hammering, how was she going to react?

Penny's eyes fluttered open and she looked right at Pete. Pete smiled, glad to see his sister looking at him. Her face was awful white, but at least she was awake.

"Hi Penny." Pete said quietly. Penny took a minute to process what was going on. She saw her brother, blurry, but still there, but what she realized was where she was. It was a place she had never seen before. And what was she doing in bed? Nothing was coming back to her. She felt frightened.

She found her voice.

"Pete?" She groaned. "What happened?" She strained to remember, but she couldn't.

Pete sighed.

"Don't you remember?" He asked. When Penny shook her head, Pete swallowed.

"You were in the caves when the water came in..." He started.

Then Penny remembered.

She had fallen asleep in the caves earlier that day. She had woken up to the sound of violent waves, and that was when she saw it.

Waves were crashing into the caves at rapid speeds and the tides were high. There was no chance Penny would be able to run out. The waves were too powerful, and when she tried, they simply pushed her violently back into the caves.

The cave filled up fast, and Penny had tried yelling for help, for Elliott, but there was nothing. She tried to tread water, when it became too deep for her to stand up, but the waves pushed her around, smacking her up against the walls. Eventually, she had lost consciousness, but she didn't remember when.

Tears began rolling down her cheeks as she remembered, and Pete was right there, throwing his arms around her tightly. Penny clung to her brother, trying to get the words out.

"How..." Was all she managed to get out, and she didn't know if it was the fact that they were twins, or if her questions was just obvious, but Pete seemed to know exactly what she was thinking.

Pete paused, swallowing tightly. The truth was that Elliott had gone in and saved her, but Pete somehow had to explain her presence in Nora's lighthouse. He wanted Penny to like Nora, to be grateful to her, but would her simply taking her in be enough? She had wanted to do that in the first place.

Pete bit his lip, feeling a sting of guilt, but pushed it away as he looked at his sister.

"Nora saved you." He lied. Penny pulled out of the hug and stared at him seriously.

"What?" She asked, feeling her stomach churn.

"We came back from town and saw the cave was filled with water, so..." Pete swallowed. "So Nora ran in and swam around until she found you. She pulled you out and we brought you up here, to Nora's lighthouse. I had to run and get the doctor. He said you were going to be okay."

Penny's expression was unreadable to Pete, and he couldn't help but feel guilty for lying to his twin sister. He hoped Elliott hadn't overheard - hopefully he would understand why Pete lied like he did. _It's only for now._ He reasoned with himself. _Once Penny starts liking Nora, I'll tell Pen the truth._

Penny didn't know what she was feeling. Penny had wanted nothing to do with this woman, in fact, she _hated_ her for taking Pete like that, and for trying to be something Penny didn't want. But she...saved her life? Penny swallowed.

Pete watched for some kind of reaction, but there wasn't any. Penny just stared off into space. Pete breathed out. At least this was a better reaction to Penny freaking out and running away. Pete felt good about his lie.

"Why...why would she do that?" Penny asked quietly, more to herself than anyone else. Pete thought quick. What could he say that would convince her? He cleared his throat.

"She did it because she cares about you. She cares about both of us. Penny, she's not like what you think she's like. You think everybody wants to hurt us, but Nora's different. She wants to help us. She's been so nice to me - she's given me food, a place to stay and she even bought me new clothes. Now she saved your life! Can't you see that she's not trying to hurt us?" He asked. All of that was true, except for saving Penny's life, but he wished Penny could see Nora the way he had. Why was Pete so much more trusting than Penny was.

Penny didn't say anything, she just sat up in the bed and breathed out, as though trying to process what was going on. Pete sighed.

"I'm going to tell Nora you're awake. She asked me to tell her." He said carefully. He tensed up, waiting for Penny to yell at him, but she didn't say anything. It was as though she hadn't even heard him.

Quietly, Pete got up and left the room. Penny knew what he was doing, where he was going. Penny wanted to stop him, tell him to tell Nora to leave her alone, but she wasn't able to get the words out. How _could_ she? What Pete had just told her...what it _meant._ If it hadn't been for Nora, Penny realized, she'd be dead right now. Then who would take care of Pete?

Penny felt tears in the corners of her eyes, and she steadied her breathing to keep herself from breaking down. Pete was going to bring Nora in here any minute now - Penny could not be weak.

She didn't know what to do. She wanted to run. She wanted to get up out of this bed, jump out the window and run. But she didn't think she had the energy. She felt so weak - every bone, every joint was sore and cold. Her chest was heavy and tight. She didn't think she'd be able to move fast enough before she was caught. Besides, she wasn't sure how she was coping with the fact that she had barely escaped from death. She was alive because of Nora. How horrible of a person would she be if she didn't even say thank you?

Penny groaned, sighed, hit her head hard against the headboard. This wasn't fair. She had too much anger and hostility inside of her to want to be nice to Nora, to want to be grateful.

She hastily wiped a tear away from her cheek and looked toward the window, her heart hammering against her chest when she heard the footsteps getting closer.


	11. Chapter 11: Horrid Medicine

**Chapter Eleven: Horrid Medicine**

"Penny's awake!" Pete cried seconds later, as he found Nora up in the lighthouse chamber, lighting up for the night. Nora smiled as she gave Pete a tap on the shoulder.

"See? What'd I tell you? She'd be up and running in no time." She said. "How is she doing?" Pete shrugged.

"I don't know. She looked confused. At first, she didn't remember anything, but then I told her what happened, and she told me everything. She fell asleep in the cave, and when she woke up, the water was already coming in. She couldn't get out." He explained, still freaked out by what had happened. Nora nodded.

"Well Pete, it's normal for Penny to feel a little strange after something like that." She immediately felt her heart in her throat. "I suppose I should give her some of that medicine the doctor gave me."

Pete nodded with a smile, but Nora was apprehensive. She hadn't said much of anything to Penny, and Penny had hardly said two words to her, and the ones she did say, were angry. _No, we wouldn't!_

Nora sighed, following Pete down the stairs where he ran right back into where Penny was. Nora busied herself in the kitchen, pulling out the bottle of medicine and a spoon. She wished the doctor were still here - in fact, Penny would probably be more willing to take this medicine from the _Gogans_ than her right now.

Still, she couldn't let her fears stand in the way of helping a little girl, so she mustered up her courage, and entered the room.

Penny was rubbing her head, but Nora was glad to see there was a little bit of pink returning to the girl's cheeks. She looked tired, black lines forming under her eyes, but at least she was awake. Nora resisted the urge to press her hand against her forehead to see if she still felt hot.

Neither Pete nor Penny had noticed her entrance, so she cleared her throat.

"Hi Penny." She said as cheerfully as she could muster, despite her nerves.

Penny looked up and met Nora's glance, but she didn't say anything.

But, Nora noticed, she didn't give her any glares either. She looked anything but angry.

No, she looked...upset. Could she really blame her? What she had just been through was terrifying, at the very least. Nora remembered how she felt when she saw Penny, blue, cold and unconscious. How on earth must Penny be feeling? All she wanted to do was scoop up the little girl and hug her, tell her it would be okay, but she held back.

Nora stepped in further, feeling a little less anxious.

"How are you feeling?" She asked. Penny didn't answer her, not right away. She only looked at her, as though trying to look right through her.

Instead, Penny looked over at Pete, who looked at Penny expectantly. This was a first, Nora thought. The way Pete spoke of Penny, it was as though Penny was the dominant one, and now, she was looking to Pete.

They stared at each other, sharing some deep twin connection that Nora was left out of. It was as though they were communicating to each other on a deeper level. Pete simply raised an eyebrow, and Penny cleared her throat.

"Okay." She replied quietly, so quietly, Nora hardly heard her.

But she talked to her. This was strange. Why the sudden change? Did it take a scare like that to allow herself to be a little girl again?

"Are you warm enough?" Nora asked. Penny simply nodded. Nora didn't understand - this _wasn't_ the same child she met only a day earlier. What had happened?

Still, Nora felt a little more relaxed walking in with the medicine.

"You gave us quite the scare. I know Pete was awfully worried about you. He never left your side, you know." She explained, unscrewing the cap of the medicine. "The doctor was here, he said you're gonna be just fine. But he does want you to take some medicine."

That was when Penny reacted.

She sat up fast, and gripped the covers tightly.

"Why?" She said quickly. It wasn't angry, it sounded more like she were afraid. Pete fielded this one.

"It's to make you better, Penny."

"I _am_ better." Nora had to stifle a laugh. Why did children insist on being so stubborn when it came to medicine? Not that she had any children of her own, but that was what she kept hearing.

"Penny, the doctor said you had a fever, so it's important to take this medicine so you can get strong again." Nora explained. Penny was clearly not happy about it. She crossed her arms stubbornly and looked as though she had a tear in her eye. Nora braced herself for an argument, but none came.

Instead, Penny finally breathed out and nodded slowly. Nora, amazed, poured some medicine on a spoon and approached Penny, who glared at that spoon like it was a snake.

But she took it. She scowled, but she took it.

Pete flashed a smile at his sister as she shuddered a little from the taste.

"Oh come on Penny, it can't be that bad." He said with a grin. She glared at him.

"Then _you_ take it." She spat. Nora laughed. It was fun to watch the interactions between the two.

"Well Penny, the doctor says you need lots of rest, so I think you should stay here for a couple of days-"

"What? No-"

"Penny, please?" Pete's voice broke through quietly, but desperately. Penny took one look at him and his blue eyes and she melted. "I don't want you to get sick again."

Nora could tell, just by looking at the little girl and boy, that they were inseparable, and today's experience taught them just how close they had come to losing one another.

Penny finally nodded, but she didn't like it. To Nora, it didn't matter. She was coming around, and now she had at least two days with her. Who knew what could happen in two days? She hoped she would be able to convince Penny that she was safe.


	12. Chapter 12: Lies Revealed

**Chapter Twelve: Lies Revealed**

Color was returning to Penny's cheeks over the next couple of days, and she was out of bed in no time. She and Pete spent most of their time together, playing with the cards Nora had given them, or drawing pictures of Elliott. Nora had gone into town the day after Penny woke up and picked up some clothes for Penny. Penny was extremely reluctant accepting them, but after a private conversation between Pete and Penny, she thanked Nora and began to wear them. Nora had to admit, it was much nicer seeing the children in clean clothes with bright rosy cheeks, rather than the oversized overalls and dirt-smudged cheeks. The children didn't seem to be used to this kind of lifestyle. The idea of Nora wanting them to take a bathe every other day came as a shock to the children, but they didn't argue.

But then, Penny wasn't saying much of anything.

True, she wasn't arguing against anything, but she wasn't exactly forthcoming about things either. Mostly, she talked to Pete. Whenever Nora tried to talk to her, she only gave short answers, and ran off to Pete.

But at least she hadn't run off.

In fact, truth be told, she was well enough to resume normal activities. The doctor had come by yesterday and deemed Penny a perfect bill of health. But when Nora suggested she stay a few more days to make sure, she shared a glance with Pete and reluctantly agreed.

Nora realized whatever was happening with Penny, the reason she was so different had something to do with Pete. Everything she did seemed to hinge on how Pete reacted to situations. It was a definite change. The way Pete talked about her, it always seemed as though she were bossy and in control. Now, she didn't seem to do much without her twin around. Nora wondered if there was something going on that she didn't know about.

On that Wednesday morning, Pete was taking a bath, and Penny was sitting in her bunk, brushing through her tangled hair. Penny peeked in on her a few times, but Penny didn't see her. Nora couldn't help herself - whether she wanted to admit to it or not, she was growing attached. She wondered what she was going to do if Pete and Penny truly did decide to take off. She couldn't very well just let them go. They were orphans - where would they go?

She knew her father was growing attached too. He wasn't home very often, but when he was, he enjoyed watching the kids' play their card games. Of course, Nora couldn't help but notice Penny's muscles tighten, and her concentration slip whenever he was home. It made Nora wonder if there was more to the Gogans than Pete realized. He had said, after all, that Pete dealt with things very differently - that as she got older, she began to feel more angry and cried less. Nora worried about Penny sometimes.

Penny began shuffling through a deck of cards while she waited for Pete to finish his bath. Nora knew Penny always got reclusive and awkward whenever Nora tried to talk to her when Pete wasn't around, but Nora had to break the ice sometime.

She entered the room quietly, Penny didn't even look up, even though Nora knew she heard her.

Nora sat down on the edge of Penny's bed, watching her for a moment, but Penny didn't even look up. She did notice, however, that Penny's whole body tightened. This was obviously uncomfortable for her. Nora didn't care. She had to get this girl to trust her. She couldn't go through life not trusting anybody. It wasn't healthy, it wasn't fair.

"Hello Penny." Nora greeted. Penny didn't answer, in fact, she didn't even show any signs of acknowledgment. Nora continued on.

"Did you sleep alright?" She asked. For a moment, nothing happened, but finally, Penny nodded ever so slightly, still looking down at her cards, shooting a quick glance toward the bathroom door. She wanted Pete to hurry up, Nora realized.

Nora thought about just leaving Penny alone, just like she wanted, but then she decided that wouldn't help. At the risk of making Penny extremely angry, Nora decided to go with it.

"Penny, can I ask you a question?" Nora asked. Penny gave no sign of whether or not she wanted her to.

"Why don't you trust me?" Nora asked. That was it. Penny froze and looked up, finally acknowledging Nora's presence. She bit her lip and narrowed her eyebrows. She opened her mouth, and then closed it again, as though reconsidering what to say. Nora waited patiently. She knew this was hard for Penny.

Penny swallowed.

"Look, I'm only here because of Pete. I don't _want_ to be here. I mean, I know you pulled me out of the caves and all, but that doesn't mean I've changed into Pete or anything." Penny spat. She didn't yell, but she was clearly angry.

But Nora finally understood what the big secret was. The reason why Penny was staying. Pete had told her that Nora was the one responsible for saving her life. Nora hadn't done anything. Penny had just mysteriously appeared on the beach. Pete said it was Elliott who saved her, the imaginary dragon. Nora couldn't understand how Penny had just shown up on the beach, but she did know that Pete had lied to Penny in order to keep her here. She would have to talk to Pete.

Nora didn't say anything else, because it was at that moment that Pete entered the room with wet hair and new clothes. Before anybody said anything, Pete looked up at Nora with a smile.

"Is it okay if Penny and I go down to visit Elliott at the caves?" He asked. Nora noticed Penny looked away, as though embarrassed. Penny had never mentioned Elliott, which made Nora wonder if Elliott was an imaginary friend of Pete's.

"That's fine, but Penny, why don't you take a head start. I'd like to talk to Pete for a minute." Nora said. Penny was just waiting for her chance to escape, and without a word, she ran from the room. Nora half worried she wouldn't come back, but then she thought of Pete. She would be back.

"Pete, why don't you sit down?" Nora said seriously. Pete sat and looked at Nora worriedly.

"Did I do somethng wrong?" He asked nervously. Nora offered him a reassuring smile.

"I think so, Pete, but you're not in trouble." She paused. "Pete, did you tell Penny I was the one who pulled her out of the caves?"

Pete was silent, obviously caught in his lie. He looked down worriedly into his folded hands and swallowed.

"Yes." He admitted. Nora smiled to herself. She knew Pete wouldn't lie to her, not if she asked. Pete trusted her too much.

"Why did you do that, Pete? That wasn't the truth." Nora explained. Although, what _was_ the truth? She didn't know either, but she had most definitely not been the one to pull Penny from the caves.

Pete seemed to think before he responded.

"Nora, I was so afraid about how she would be when she woke up and knew where she was. She was so mad at me for coming here, and she didn't want to come with me. I...I knew I had to tell her something to make her stay. If I didn't tell her that you saved her life, she would have run away. But when I told her you did save her life, she was a different. She didn't get angry or want to run away. She actually _trusted_ me, and stayed." He explained. Nora felt for the boy. He felt so torn between the love for his sister, and the fact that he had someone to trust. He was only looking for a way to join the two together. Still, Nora couldn't condone lying.

"Pete, you have to tell your sister the truth." She said simply. Pete looked up, shaking his head.

"I _can't_, Nora. If I do, she'll just get mad again and run away." He said. Nora breathed out, placing a hand on Pete's.

"Pete, you won't know that until it happens, but Penny is your sister. You can't lie to her anymore." She pointed toward the door. "Why don't you go tell her the truth?"

Pete sighed, but agreed, heading toward the front door slowly, picking up the pictures he and Penny had drawn of the dragon the other day. Nora watched him go, swallowing the lump in her throat. She wasn't going to deny she had the same fear. She wondered why Penny had had such a change of mind since she woke up a few days ago. Now she knew, and Pete was right - when Penny knew the truth, would she run away? The though scared Nora to death.


	13. Chapter 13: The Truth Can Hurt

**Chapter Thirteen: The Truth Can Hurt**

Pete hesitated greatly on his walk down to the caves. He walked slowly, kicking the same yellow rock on the way. He couldn't help it; he was so nervous. Nora found out about his lie, and now he had to tell Penny the truth. Breathing out, he tried to figure out how he could say it without upsetting Penny. Penny took everything so badly, what was she going to do when she found out Pete lied to keep her here?

He clung to the pictures they drew together. It had been such a happy moment for the two of them, but more for Pete, because not only were they together and coloring like kids should be, but they were also with Nora. Pete loved that part, even though Penny obviously didn't like that she had to stay here. Pete reasoned the only reason she did stay was because of what she believed Nora had done. Penny would run away for sure now. Pete was scared of that. He would _never_ leave Penny again, so if she left, it would mean he would have to leave too. He couldn't lose his sister, not again.

Entering the mouth of the cave, he could hear Penny's laughter, and Elliott's as well. When he walked in, he saw Penny sitting on the edge of Elliott's tail, laughing about something. It was nice to see her laughing; maybe her good mood would help her receive his news a little more graciously.

Elliott looked up at Pete with some dragon noises and Pete smiled.

"Hello to you too, Elliott." He held up the pictures. "Look what Penny and me made you." Elliott grabbed hold of the pictures and held them up to take a better look. He smiled widely and nodded his approval.

"Glad you like them." Pete said, joining Penny on Elliott's tail. "Penny, I have to talk to you."

Penny looked over, and her smile dropped. She knew this was serious. The old Penny was back in an instant, suspiscious and assuming it had something to do with Nora.

"What?" She asked, rolling her eyes. Pete sighed. He figured she thought he was going to ask her to stay longer, or something, but it wasn't like that. Not this time.

"Penny..." Pete stopped. He looked up at Elliott for support. Elliott just looked at him with confused eyes, but he nodded his head to prompt him. Pete sighed. "Pen, I lied to you."

Penny stood up defensively and crossed her arms.

"Lied?" She asked with a raised eyebrow. "Lied about what?"

"About what happened. You know...that day...I said Nora saved you. I said she went in and got you out..." He ignored Elliott's gasp. Pete hadn't even told Elliott about his lie. "Nora didn't go in. But she was going to!" He added for good measure.

Penny just stared at him, surprised and her eyes filling up with angry tears.

"She didn't?" She asked in a loud voice. "Well then, who did?" She was yelling now.

"She had her shoes off and everything-"

"WHO, PETE?" Penny screamed.

"Elliott." Pete replied, breathing out. "Elliott saved you. He pulled you out of the cave."

Penny didn't say anything. She just stared at Pete with an open mouth, as a tear trickled out of her eye. Then she turned and looked at Elliott, who couldn't look at her either. Penny breathed out and then shook her head, turning back to Pete.

"If Elliott was the one who saved me, then _why_ did you tell me _she_ did it?" She asked angrily, pointing her finger violently toward the direction of the lighthouse.

"I thought if I told you Nora saved you, then you would stay." He admitted. Penny turned and walked away further into the cave, and then she turned back to face him.

"You set me up, Pete, you _knew_ if I thought she saved my life, I'd have no choice but to stay here! You knew how I would feel about that and you _used_ that to keep me here! That's all you wanted since you met her. For me to like her too, so you could have your happy life! You didn't like that you couldn't have her and me at the same time, so you lied!" Penny shouted. Pete stood up now, walking up to Penny with wide eyes.

"Maybe if you were a little more trusting of people, I wouldn't have had to do that!"

"_Trusting?_ Pete, have you forgotten who we lived with? What they _did_ to us! Why would you think anybody else would be any better?" Penny shouted, another tear escaping.

"But the Gogans are _bad_ people! Nora is a good person! You see it, I _know_ you do! You're just too scared to admit it."

"Scared? Scared of _what?_ Don't be stupid, Pete, I'm just being _smart!"_

"It's not being smart, it's being scared! I don't care what you call it, but you're scared of something! I don't know why we're so different, Penny! The Gogans do the same stuff to me, but I-"

"THEY DO _NOT _DO THE SAME STUFF TO YOU!" Now Penny was really crying, and she turned away the same way she always did when she was embarrassed to cry. Pete was silent. This was new, Penny had never said anything like this before. Now he wondered what she meant.

There wasn't time to figure it out, though, because she scrubbed her eyes on her sleeve, and headed for the mouth of the cave. Elliott put his tail up in front of her, saying something. She turned to stare at him.

"I'm _leaving_, Elliott. I'm not staying here. I don't have to anymore, I don't have to feel bad for leaving, because _she_ didn't save me. Thank you for saving my life, _Elliott!_ But I'm not stayin' anymore. I'm leaving." She pushed Elliott's tail out of the way, and began to run. Pete turned and stared after her.

"No, Penny!" He shouted. Penny stopped in the mouth of the cave. She didn't turn, but she waited. Pete felt tears running down his cheek as he stared at her.

"Please don't leave, Penny, I can't...when I thought you were...Penny, I can't be away from you anymore, and I'll go with you if I have to, but my whole life, all I've ever done is listen to you. You've always told me what to do, and I've listened, but this time, _you're wrong!_ You gotta stay here with me, because I can't be apart from you, but I know what I'm doing, and if you really cared about me, you'd stay. I've trusted you my whole life, now you gotta trust me!" Pete said, crossing his arms to stand his ground. This was the first time he ever stood up to his sister, and he had to admit, he felt nervous. She had always been the one in charge, the one to make the decisions, and he never fought her on it, but this time, she was wrong, and he _knew_ it. He wasn't about to just let them walk away from something that could be good for them.

Penny sighed, rubbing her eyes again and looking at Pete sadly. Pete knew what she was feeling - maybe it was their twin sense or something, but he knew she felt torn. He knew she felt what he was feeling when he thought he lost his sister forever. He knew Penny understood how horrible it would be if they ever lost each other, so she understood where he was coming from in all this. The question was, would it be enough to convince her?

Penny walked back into the cave, and sat down beside Elliott. Pete joined her after a moment, sitting beside her. She sighed.

"Pete, I love you. You're my brother, and you're all I got. I don't trust Nora, and I don't trust the people in this town, but...I trust you, so I'm gonna stay. But _only_-" she said, cutting off his excited smile, "only until we figure out what to do next. We can't stay here forever, Pete. The Gogans would find us eventually. You know they ain't gonna quit 'til they find us. So we'll stay with Nora, until we can come up with a plan, okay?" She asked. Pete sighed. It wasn't quite what he was hoping for, but for now, it was enough.

He shook her offered hand, and they sealed the deal with a hug. Elliott just laughed from behind them.

* * *

Nora was watching out the front window of the lighthouse, waiting for the twins to come back. Or, at least Pete.

She knew they were down in that cave right now, and Pete was telling Penny the truth. Nora couldn't believe it. She couldn't believe all this time, the only reason Penny had stayed was because of what Pete had made her believe. Penny only stayed because she felt indebted to her or something. Now what was going to happen?

Nora didn't think Penny would come back after learning the truth. Not only would she be angry with Pete for lying, but she wouldn't feel the need to stay anymore. Nora tried to think about what she would do if the twins _both_ decided to leave. She couldn't let that happen. They were too young to be on their own. She'd have to stop them, somehow.

Luckily, she wouldn't have to do that. At least, not yet. She peered out the lighthouse window and saw Pete and Penny coming out of the caves, both walking back up toward the lighthouse. They weren't yelling at each other. They weren't fighting. In fact, they were _smiling._ One of two things must have happened. Either Pete didn't tell Penny anything yet, _or_ Pete told Penny the truth, and Penny was okay with it. Whatever had happened, they were both coming back, and that was more than what Nora had been expecting.

The door creaked open and the twins entered the room. Nora immediately noticed the two had been crying, Penny more than Pete, but she didn't press.

"Hello." She said with a smile. "Did Elliott like his pictures?" She asked, trying to tap in to their little fantasy world. Pete smiled.

"Oh yes, he thought they were great." He said cheerfully.

"Wonderful. I'm just about to make some supper. It will be ready in a while." Nora said as she noticed Penny never looked up.

"Thanks Nora." With that, Pete took his sister's hand and the two ran back over to their room. Nora smiled to herself. Another day was safe. She told herself she wouldn't worry about tomorrow until tomorrow came.


	14. Chapter 14: First Day of School

**Chapter Fourteen: First Day of School**

Penny and Pete continued to stay at Nora's and Lampie's lighthouse for the next week. Nora noticed a complete change in Penny's demeanor, though. If she was quiet and reclusive before she found out about Pete's lie, now Nora felt like she was a lost cause. Penny avoided Nora at all costs, and never left Pete's side if she could help it. Nora began to worry about Penny's behaviour when her dad came home from his time in the bar. Penny's whole body tensed up and she took off to their bedroom without a word, not even to Pete. Nora worried a lot about Penny these days. After she and Pete returned from the caves last week, Pete told Nora all about their conversation, and about Penny's outburst about not having the same experience with the Gogans as he did. Of course, Pete had no idea what that had meant, but now Nora was beginning to wonder. According to Pete, the Gogans consisted of Mr. and Mrs. Gogan and their two sons, Willie and Grover. Penny was a young girl living with mostly men. Nora began to wonder if something had happened to Penny. Something that had made her cold to the world. But Nora couldn't even get Penny to say hi to her. She wasn't expecting Penny to share her soul.

It was a Monday morning, and she was already meeting resistance from Pete. Nora had told them over breakfast that she thought they should start going to school. At least, until they could figure out what would happen next. Penny reacted as Nora had expected - coldly, as though she didn't even care. Pete, on the other hand, fought against it.

"But we don't have to go to school! Penny and me read a lot and we know lots of stuff too. I can even spell Mississippi. M-I-S-S-I-"

"Pete, it's great you know a lot, and I'm glad you can spell Mississippi, but don't you want to learn new things? Kids your age go to school." Nora explained. Pete slouched in his chair, but Nora was more concerned with Penny's reaction. Pete wouldn't be happy about school, but if Nora wanted them to go, he would go. It was Penny she was worried about. She didn't react at all. She just stared at her empty plate quietly and didn't argue when Nora asked them to put on their best outfits she had bought them. Penny didn't say anything as they walked into town toward the schoolhouse, but Pete wouldn't stop reciting facts about his multiplication tables. Nora had to laugh. No kid really enjoyed school, but she was responsibile for the two of them right now, and they needed an education. Heaven knew the Gogans weren't any help.

When they arrived at the schoolhouse, the teacher met them on the front step.

"Can I help you?" She asked with tight lips. She never smiled, and she looked at Pete and Penny as though they were something pulled out of a garbage pail. Nora breathed out.

"Hello Mrs. Tucker. I've brought you some new students. This is Pete and this is Penny. They're siblings, twins actually." She explained. Pete smiled proudly, but Penny looked away. Mrs. Tucker pursed her lips, looking from twin to twin.

"Well, they look nothing alike." She said in a strange tone. Pete piped up.

"Oh we aren't identical. My father had red hair, that's why I have red hair. Penny got my mother's brown hair." He explained. Nora felt the sting that must have gone through Penny just then. The little girl's eyes welled up with tears, but she tried to hide them by looking at the gravol road.

"It's quite late in the school year, you know. It might be difficult for them to catch up." Mrs. Tucker pointed out with a raised eyebrow and before Nora had a chance to respond, she was surprised to hear Penny speak up.

"We aren't stupid!" She snapped.

"Penny!" Nora warned and looked up nervously at Mrs. Tucker. The school teacher pursed her lips again, glaring at Penny.

"I do not tolerate back talk in my classroom, young lady. You would be wise to leave that attitude at the door." She said sternly. Penny looked away without a word.

Taking that as her cue, Nora flashed a grin.

"Well then, I suppose they're in good, capable hands. I'll be back to collect them at the end of the day." She said. Mrs. Tucker looked less than impressed but she didn't argue as Nora walked away, waving goodbye to the children. Pete returned the wave with a grin, but Penny looked away.

As Nora walked away, she could only pray Penny would behave herself.


	15. Chapter 15: Life is Unfair

**Chapter Fifteen: Life is Unfair**

Penny stared hard at the workbook in front of her, imagining how neat it would be if she could breathe fire like Elliott could. Boy, would she light this book on fire, and make everybody scream.

The truth was, it wasn't like she wasn't _enjoying_ school. Under any other circumstances, this would have been a dream come true. Penny loved to read, learn and experiment, but the fact that Nora was the one who was making them go to school was what made it so difficult. It made her want to scream out loud.

Pete, on the other hand, was obedient enough. He clearly didn't like school, and squinted his face a few times while he worked on some math problems. But because Nora asked him to, he would try his best, and that made Penny mad. It made her want to do her worst.

She wished Elliott were here, at least he listened to her. Sure, he didn't always agree with what she said, in fact, he didn't agree with her 90% of the time, but at least he listened. Pete tried, but he was hypnotized with Nora's kindness. He even told Penny once that it would be so neat if Nora was their mother.

Penny had kept her mouth shut then, not wanting to yell at her brother, but she had felt her stomach turn to acid at that one. She still had vivid memories of her real mother, before she died. Her mother's long brown hair, the wide pink smile that gave Penny goosebumps just thinking about, and her soft skin. It ached to think of her, and it hurt even more to hear Pete talking about replacing her.

Penny breathed out, looking back at her workbook and immediately felt thankful when the bell rang for their first recess. Children jumped up out of their seats and ran from the schoolhouse to play on the playground, but Penny held back. Even Pete ran out ahead of her. He seemed to want to play with the other children. She couldn't care less.

She found herself sitting on the front steps of the schoolhouse, watching the children playing merrily as though they hadn't a care in the world. Pete was apprehensively watching a group of kids playing on teeter totters, as though hoping they would invite him to join. Penny sighed. Pete was so naive sometimes. Kids were never that nice; nobody was.

Suddenly, a dark-haired girl with glasses and tight braids approached Penny, who looked up curiously. She wondered if this kid was going to ask her to play.

"You're that girl!" The girl said snottily. Penny puckered her brow and stared at her.

"What girl?" She asked.

"My daddy said you and your stupid brother came into this town and stole from his pear tree! Do you know how long it takes him to grow pears?" The girl said. Penny stood up.

"I didn't steal nothing, and my brother's not stupid, so take it back!" She yelled. The little girl just laughed at her.

"No way, I'm not taking anything back! You're both rotten thieves."

"Take it _back!"_

"No! My daddy says you never should have come into Passamaquoddy. You're nothing but dirty orphans!"

"TAKE IT BACK!"

"You're just a no-good-"

Penny lost it before she even had a chance to think of the consequences. Her fist went up and hit the girl in the middle of her face and she stumbled backward with a bloody nose. Penny felt frightened, but her anger was more intense. At this point, a series of gasps rang through Penny's ears, as the girl stared at her in surprise. A group of students encircled the girls, and the other girl threw her own fist forward, hitting Penny right beside her left eye. That was it. Penny grabbed at the girl's hair, scratched at her arms, feeling her own hair being tugged and her shins being kicked. She heard the distance echoes of "fight, fight, fight" around her, and faintly, she thought she even heard Pete's voice of reason trying to get her to stop. But Penny was so angry, but she couldn't understand why, if she was so angry, she was crying.

"Take-it-back!" Penny squealed as she tried to hit the girl again, only to get hit in the mouth.

"Enough!" It was Mrs. Tucker! The circle of students backed away to allow the school teacher into the circle where Penny and the girl stopped dead in their tracks, staring at each other bitterly.

Mrs. Tucker took one look at Penny and then at the other girl.

"Emily, go inside and get yourself cleaned up. The rest of you back inside and start on your poetry. No, not you Penny. I want you to stay out here and think about what you've done. You will sit right here on this step until I call Nora to come and fetch you. I do not want you to step a foot back into my classroom until you have learned to control your behaviour!" Mrs. Tucker said, glaring hard at Penny. Pete, who had lingered at the back of the crowd, stared at Penny with wide eyes. Penny felt tears stinging her eyes.

"But Mrs. Tucker, I-"

"Sit out here and think!" With that, Mrs. Tucker went in behind Pete, making a beeline for the telephone.

Penny watched Pete disappear, and it was then that she felt more alone than she had ever felt in her life. The injustice of it, the unfairness, the indecency, and she was alone.

As she lowered herself onto the front step of the schoolhouse, defeated, she could hold it in no longer. She began to weep as she heard the distant yelling of Mrs. Tucker into the telephone.

* * *

Penny sat for a long while, hearing the silence from inside the classroom, which made her ache. She felt isolated, rejected, ostricized. She would never come back here again. In fact, part of her wondered why she was simply sitting here obediently waiting. She could run right now, run away and never turn back. She wouldn't have to go back to this rotten school, she would never have to see Passamaquoddy again, and even better, she wouldn't have to deal with Nora.

But there was Pete, and that was the only thing allowing her to endure all of this. Still, she couldn't stop the tears, the hurt. She made herself sick with anger as she imagined Emily inside with a pack of ice on her swollen nose, while Penny was out here with a bloody lip and a black eye, and nobody cared an ounce for her. _Nobody cares for rotten good-for-nothing orphans! What was Pete thinking?_

"Penny?" Penny couldn't even bring herself to look up. Nora was here, and Penny felt every ounce of her shaking with anger and frustration, but mostly, hurt. Life was unfair, everything was unfair.

Penny didn't even have time to hide her tears, and, feeling ashamed, she turned away just to rub the fresh tears off her face, catching a trace of blood with them. Before Nora even had a chance to ask, Mrs. Tucker exited the schoolhouse, glaring hard at Penny, who refused to give her the satisfaction of returning her gaze.

"Nora, I do not know where these children have come from, nor why you are keeping them with you, but if you are responsible for them, then I should expect some sense to be knocked into this one! I say, I have _never_ in all my years witnessed such behaviour in my schoolhouse! Poor Emily was just minding her own business and this one jumped her-"

"It wasn't like that! I-" Penny tried.

"Enough out of you. Lies, lies, lies! Another thing I do not tolerate!"

"I'm not-"

"Nora, I do not want to see this child in my schoolhouse again until I hear a sincere apology from her own mouth to Emily, and 200 lines that read, 'I will not use violence at school.' Honestly, if this is the kind of behaviour-"

"Yes, Mrs. Tucker, alright, I will bring Penny home. We'll come back for Pete at the end of the day. Thank you, Mrs. Tucker." Nora flashed her winning smile and looked at Penny, who really had no choice in the matter. She couldn't stay at the school, she wasn't allowed there. She couldn't run off, what would she do about Pete? The only thing she could do was go with Nora and wait for Pete to finish school. Then she would have to talk to him - Penny had endured so much, she couldn't do it anymore.

The walk back to the lighthouse was silent and awkward. Penny tried to keep her sniffling to herself. The last thing she wanted was for Nora to ask her any questions. Penny was so angry, she swore she saw red spots in her vision. It wasn't fair! Why did everything horrible have to happen to her? Should a ten-year-old really hate her own life? She wondered if Emily hated _her_ life? _No, she can't hate her life. She has a daddy._ She remembered the man who chased her off his lawn for taking a pear. She imagined a different side to him, a warm side who tucked Emily in at night and told her wonderful stories about fairies and leprechauns. Penny forced those thoughts away; they made her think of her own dad, those distant memories that remained tucked away somewhere deep inside.

Once inside the lighthouse, Penny began to walk toward the bathroom. She wanted to splash some water on her face, and then she wanted nothing more than to curl up on her bed and sleep. Sleep was the greatest way to forget about your troubles - you simply drifted off into a mystical land where unicorns grazed and rainbows lined every sky. If you were lucky. Sometimes, the world of dreams wasn't so nice. But it was always worth a shot.

"Penny, please sit down." Nora said as Penny tried to get away. Penny turned and stared at Nora with hard eyes. No, not this, not without Pete.

Penny didn't move, she just looked away nervously, feeling her lip puffing up. Nora seemed to pick up on Penny's feelings.

"Penny, I just want to help, I'm going to put some ice on your eye, so it doesn't get swollen, okay?" Nora asked. Penny breathed out, feeling a tear stinging her eye as she remembered the unfairness of Emily getting the ice while Penny had to sit outside with nothing but her anger.

Penny lowered herself into a chair, distancing herself emotionally. Pretend to be okay, look okay, don't let emotions show. She knew that only made you vulnerable. She knew what that word meant, she had looked it up in a dictionary the Gogans had one time. She didn't like it. She would never let herself be vulnerable again.

Nora came over with a wet cloth first and dabbed away all the blood on Penny's chin. Ouch, it hurt, but Penny forced herself not to show it. She thought of Pete and of Elliott and how happy everything could be if they could run away tonight, find a new place. Maybe they could go back to the little forest with the apple trees, or maybe they could go to China, just like they wanted!

Nora gave Penny some ice wrapped in a towel and told her to put it next to her, but not to press hard. The cold feeling helped the pain a little, Penny thought, and was secretly grateful.

"Can I go now?" Penny asked, wanting nothing more than to lay down and sleep. Nora breathed out and nodded.

"I suppose you can, but Penny, I wondered if you wanted to talk about this." She said. Penny's stomach knotted. Talk?

"No." Penny said simply. Why bother talking? Mrs. Tucker didn't even _let_ her explain. The last thing she wanted was for someone to lecture her.

But it was what came out of Nora's mouth next that both shocked and surprised Penny.

"Oh, well I was hoping to hear your side of the story."

Penny froze. _Her_ side of the story? Somebody wanted to know _her_ side of the story.

Penny felt her mouth becoming dry as she stared up at Nora with wide eyes.

"Y-you want to know _my _side?" She asked incredulously. Nora smiled.

"Yes I do. I got the impression you were trying to tell us something at the schoolhouse, but Mrs. Tucker wouldn't let you talk. I don't think I've got all the facts." She explained. Penny felt like smiling, but she didn't. She simply couldn't believe someone wanted to hear her side to things. There was a part of her that wanted to clam up, to pretend like she didn't care, but the injustice of everything was too much to bear, and soon, Penny found herself deflating like a balloon, as she began to tell Nora the story of what really happened.

"I didn't do anything! I was just sitting there by myself and Emily came and told me I was a thief, and she called my brother _stupid!_ I told her to take it back and she....she called me....a dirty orphan! I know she was right, but I got so mad. She just wouldn't take it back! I know I shouldn't have punched her, but it's not fair!" Penny exclaimed, forcing the tears down. Waiting for Nora to begin a lecture on how violence is never the answer, she was surprised when it never came. Instead, Nora lowered herself to kneel on the floor in front of Penny.

"She's not right, Penny, you're _not_ a dirty orphan. You and Pete are amazingly, wonderful children who have had a difficult life. You had every right to be upset with Emily. No, you shouldn't have hit her, you're right, and you will have to apologize for that, but she shouldn't have said the things she said, and she needs to apologize too. It doesn't matter where you and Pete are from, you're still important." Nora said in a quiet voice. Penny met her gaze, and then looked away awkwardly.

"No I'm not." She whispered.

"Well I would like to argue against that. What a person has been through in life doesn't make them any more or less important in life." Nora pointed out. Penny immediately grew defensive. Nora kept talking about a difficult life. What did she know?

"What has Pete been telling you, exactly? You don't know anything about my life." Penny said, looking away again as she pulled the ice pack away from her eye. Nora, with a sigh, took the ice pack from Penny and put it back up to her eye.

"I know you lived with a family called the Gogans who beat you both if you didn't do your chores right. I know you haven't got the chance to go to school when you lived with them. I know you were unhappy. How could you be happy there, Penny? What they did to the two of you-"

"It was nothing! Pete don't know how easy he had it." And there it was again. The inequality of it all was exposed once again. Penny flinched away from Nora's touch with the ice pack, and yet she couldn't bring herself to walk away.

Nora stared at the young girl, feeling frightened for her, and concerned all at the same time. Nora had never had Penny this close to tears, this close to talking. She wasn't going to stop now, no matter how it turned out.

"Penny, Pete was beaten. You were beaten. How could you think either of you had it easy?" She asked, being careful not to touch Penny or scare her. This was a breakthrough. Pete said Penny never talked about the Gogans or anything that happened there. Maybe it was to protect Pete. Would she talk to Nora?

"It wasn't the same for both of us. He was just...treated differently is all." Penny explained, her voice was shaking now with the rest of her body.

"Penny, did they ever touch you?" Nora didn't like the bluntness of it, she hadn't expected to ask it so directly, but even though Penny was so fragile, she was also a hard shell to break through. "Did Mr. Gogan, or his sons, did they ever do anything to you that they never did with Pete?"

It was then that Penny flew off the handle.

"I just want to lie down, I feel sick!" Penny shouted quickly as she jumped from her chair. Nora jumped up off the ground and caught Penny halfway to her bedroom. She took hold of the girl's arms, turning her around to face her, staring hard at her, refusing to let go. Not now.

"Penny, talk to me, did the Gogans ever touch you?" She asked.

"Let me go, I-"

"Honey, stop holding it to yourself. I can understand why you won't tell Pete, but you can tell me, you gotta tell somebody."

"You don't know...you don't know what you're talkin' about, I-"

"Did the Gogans-"

"Don't say it again!"

"Tell me, Penny, did Willie, or Grover, or Mr. Gogan, did they ever-"

"YES!"

Now, Penny was in hysterics, becoming putty in Nora's extended arms. She bit down on her lip hard as she tried to look away, but the whimpering came out in steady waves. Nora's heart broke as she listened to the child cry. She knew it, she had known all this time there was something suspiscious in how Penny was dealing with the same situation as Pete. It was because it wasn't the same situation at all. All this had been kept a secret from her brother, maybe to protect him, maybe so as not to scare him, maybe so she wouldn't ruin the hope he still had for humanity and life, while hers had been shattered to the core. It was no wonder Penny acted more like an adult than Pete did - she had seen true horrors Pete had never been exposed to. That was something that couldn't be shared, not even between twins.

Nora didn't know what to say then, but it was a surprise to her that even though Nora loosened her grip on the girl, Penny didn't go anywhere. She simply continued to cry as Nora's hand went down to take Penny's, and quietly, she led her into the bedroom Pete and Penny were occupying.

They were silent, as Penny crawled up into her bunk and carefully lowered herself to lie down on the pillow. Nora followed her, and standing up, she was level with Penny's head, as she was sleeping on the top bunk. Hesitantly, Nora reached out her hand, and began smoothing Penny's mousy brown hair away from her tear-streaked face. Penny, strangely, did not object, flinch or pull away. She simply stared hard at the ceiling, regulating her breathing carefully.

"Penny, I'm sorry." Nora said, not knowing what else to say. This little girl's innocence had been stripped away from her. If Nora _ever_ met the Gogans in an alleyway...

"I never even did anything wrong." Penny whispered, as she began to close her eyes. Sleep was coming, but in the midst of all the emotion, and all the angst and fear, Penny began to talk. Nora puckered her brow, as she simply listened.

"I thought...when we did stuff wrong, we got beaten, both me and Pete, but there was always a reason. If I didn't milk the cows right, or if the chickens didn't lay enough eggs, or if I just looked at 'em funny." Penny was drifting fast, but somehow, she kept talking. "But then things were different. One day, Pete an' I forgot to clean the barn, and we got a really bad beatin', and we went to bed sore, but then...Willie came. I thought he came to beat us some more, but he was real quiet, and he told me to go with him. I thought I was in trouble, but I didn't do anything wrong, 'cept the barn, but Pete did it too. I didn't do nothing wrong by myself. But he took me into his old room, and...and..."

Nora swallowed her sobs. Penny couldn't even finish the sentence, but she didn't have to. It didn't matter what Willie did to her that night, it had destroyed her.

"It was always like that after that. I never did nothin' wrong, but he still came looking." A tear rolled down Penny's cheek as her head lolled softly to one side. Her bruise was coming down a little, but her eyes were still swollen, though not from Emily's punch. This was from her tears.

Nora pulled the quilt over Penny, and slowly proceeded to give Penny a small kiss on the head. Penny shifted quietly, but she was too tired to get upset or flinch away.

"Penny, you did nothing wrong, and you didn't deserve anything that happened to you. It will never happen again, I _promise_ you that! You're safe now, Penny. You can trust me. I'm going to keep them away from you. I'm going to keep the two of you safe." Nora promised in a quiet whisper. She breathed out and stared at Penny for a short while before turning to head out of the room to allow Penny to sleep for a bit, but as she was leaving, she swore she heard a tiny voice break the silence in the lowest of whispers.

"I know."


	16. Chapter 16: Don't Tell

**Chapter Sixteen: Don't Tell**

When Penny woke up a few hours later, she struggled to remember what had happened. The sunlight was coming in through the window and as she sat up, she tried to remember the events of the day. Her eyes were sore, she had been crying, and then she remembered everything, as the drowsiness wore off.

She remembered Emily, she remembered being blamed by that stupid teacher, she remembered Nora taking her home, and she remembered what happened after that.

Fear swallowed her up, as she thought about what had happened. Nora knew about her. Nora had guessed what Penny thought nobody would ever find out. She knew what Willie had done to her before she had ever even said anything. Even Pete didn't know what went on behind Willie's closed door. She would _never_ be able to tell him. He was still so young...

But then, so was Penny, but somehow, now it all felt so different.

Penny felt her heart hammering in her chest. Would Nora tell Pete what Penny disclosed? Would Nora keep her secret? Would she help Penny in continuing to protect Pete from that information? She had to talk to Nora, make sure she understood just how important it was to keep Pete in the dark.

She jumped from her bunk and ran out into the kitchen, where she found a note on the table.

_Penny, I went into town to pick up your brother from school. I hope you slept well. Be back soon, Nora._

Penny sighed. She didn't think Nora would say anything to Pete, but then, she didn't trust adults. She didn't know - she could only hope.

She decided to go down to the caves to visit Elliott. She hardly got to see him anymore, with everything that had been going on, and she decided she wanted to tell him all about what happened today at the school. She would leave out the part about Nora finding out, Elliott didn't know that part either.

Penny changed out of her dress and put on a fresh one, as the other one was still dirty from fighting Emily. Putting on her shoes, Penny stepped out of the lighthouse and ran down to the caves, feeling a wave of fear hitting her before she entered it. She still felt it everytime she came near these caves. Knowing she had nearly drowned in her didn't help.

Thankfully, Elliott met her outside of the cave, fully invisible, even though _she_ could see him.

"Hi Elliott." Penny said with a bit of a smile. Elliott stared down at her with concerned eyes as he inquired about her bruised eye and bloody lip.

"Yeah, well, Nora made us go to school today, and...well, I got into a fight, so I had to leave. It wasn't my fault though, Elliott! She said _horrible_ things to me, about me _and_ about Pete! She called him stupid and she called us dirty orphans!" Penny tried to explain. Elliott gave her a bit of a disapproving look and asked if Emily started the fight.

Penny looked down.

"Well, I threw the first punch, _but she made me do it!"_ She exclaimed. Elliott shook his head as he lectured her on how violence is never the answer.

"Well there isn't anything I can do about it now, is there? Besides, she hit me back! And she didn't even get into trouble! Why should we be treated any differently because we're not from around here? Just because we don't have parents, doesn't mean we aren't important!" Penny crossed her arms, as she plopped herself in the sand. Elliott was silent for a moment, before he sat down next to her, asking her a question. Penny looked up with narrow eyebrows.

"Of _course_ it hurts! You ever have a black eye before, Elliott?" She spat. Elliott looked hurt and immediately turned away. Penny sighed.

"I'm sorry, Elliott. It's just...it's just been a hard day." She tried, thinking about her conversation with Nora. How could she have let herself be so open about what went on? How could she risk that? Now Nora could tell Pete, and then what would she do? Pete's world was so different from Penny's, he had hope, he had dreams and wishes, he hadn't seen true horrors, and Penny wanted to keep it that way. Telling him what happened to her would only shatter his world. She couldn't let that happen. He was her anchor. His hope and love for life kept her alive. She couldn't lose that. Not now. Maybe when they were older, she would tell him, but not now.

Penny sat with Elliott for a while, just talking, playing tic tac toe on his stomach, and it made Penny feel a little better. She didn't know what she would do when she got back to the lighthouse. How would she tell Nora to keep her mouth shut with Pete around? She hoped she wasn't already too late.

After a while, Penny thought she should head back up to the lighthouse. She hadn't left a note, and Nora would be back with Pete now. The last thing she wanted was for Pete to worry.

Penny said goodbye to Elliott and promised to visit more often, and she ran back up to the lighthouse where she found Nora coming out of hers and Pete's bedroom. A wave of relief crossed her face.

"Penny, thank goodness," she breathed out, "where were you?" Penny went pink. She didn't think anyone would care. Penny never had to own up for her actions before, not since the orphanage. The Gogans didn't care, but then, there had never been any opportunity to take off. You'd get your hide beaten if you did.

"I just..." she had never mentioned Elliott, not on her own. Penny didn't think many people would believe the two children who had a dragon. "I just went for a walk." Nora sighed.

"Alright, but do me a favour. Can you please leave a note next time? I need to know where you are. I was worried." She explained. Penny started to feel angry, it wasn't any of _her_ business where she was, or what she was doing. But then there was a part of her that felt surprised. Nora wasn't angry, she said she was _worried._ Did that mean she actually did care? Penny didn't know. She cleared her throat.

"Sorry," she mumbled. "Where's Pete?" Nora sat down at the kitchen table.

"He's in the bathtub, but he won't be long." She replied.

"Good, 'cause," Penny sat down, "I need to talk to you about something." Nora looked surprised, and Penny didn't blame her. Penny hardly said two words to Nora, but this was too important.

"What is it, Penny?" Nora wanted to know.

"Look, what I told you...what you figured out today...I shouldn't have said anything, and...you can't tell Pete! Pete doesn't know, and I can't ever let him know, so please don't say anything to him." Penny pleaded, never looking at Nora, but staring at the table instead.

Nora was silent as she took in the girl sitting across from her.

"I haven't said anything to Pete, and I won't either, Penny. It's not my place to tell him about your life, but I'm curious, why haven't you told him? You know, he worries about you. He understands that you've dealt with things differently. He says ever since you were bought by the Gogans, you became angry and you never cried and you stopped having hope. Now, I know why, but why haven't you told Pete?" Nora wanted to know. Penny looked up and glared at her. What did she know? She didn't know anything about it. Life for her was easy too.

"Pete's too young. He...he wouldn't understand, and...I couldn't tell him this stuff. He's just a kid." Penny replied, looking away angrily. Penny flinched when Nora unexpectantly reached out her hand and put it on top of Penny's.

"What are you, Penny? You're just a kid too, and you're still young. I understand what the difference is, and you're right, maybe Pete wouldn't understand, so maybe it's not the right time to tell him, but you're just a little girl, Penny, you don't have to act like a grown-up. I can't even begin to imagine what happened to you, but I know it hurt you deeper than anything Pete has been through, and for that, I'm so sorry. I stand by my promise, though. Those people won't come anywhere near you again." Nora replied. Penny looked at her and then pulled her hand away.

"You can't promise that to me. They _are_ gonna find us sometime. They're looking, I _know_ they are. And when they find us, they'll take us back there, and...." Penny couldn't even think about what would happen. It had already been a week, a week Willie had gone without her. She shivered. "The only thing I can do is take Pete and run. I know he wants to stay here, but...I think we have to go. It's the only way we'll be safe." Penny didn't even know that for sure. The Gogans paid good money for them - they wouldn't just wave them off and buy new orphans. They were very territorial, especially Willie.

"They can't take you back if you've got someone taking care of you. Penny, if it's just you and Pete, it would be easy for the Gogans to take you back. But what if you had a grown-up to help out? Stay here, Penny, I know it scares you, and I know you don't trust me, but I'm asking you to this time. Stay. The Gogans will never hurt you again, not as long as I can help it." Nora said. Penny stared at her, unsure, but she could pick up on Nora's earnest heart. She even had _tears_ in her eyes. Was she really concerned about Penny? Would she really do everything in her power to protect her from the Gogans? Pete too?

Penny wasn't sure - the only adults she had ever trusted was her mom and dad, and they were long gone now. Every other adult after them treated them like scum and hurt them. Would there ever be anybody like her parents?

Maybe Pete was right. Maybe they weren't all bad. She didn't like the idea of staying, but she also didn't like the idea of taking off again, because Nora was right, the two of them alone if the Gogans ever found them wouldn't stand a chance. There were four Gogans, and Pete and Penny were just small, underfed kids. They wouldn't be able to outrun them. And the beating they would get...and worse...

Penny breathed out, not knowing whether or not she was making the right decision, but she knew Pete would be happy, and for her, that made it okay.

"Alright," she said quietly, "I'll stay." Nora smiled.

"Wonderful." She said. Penny looked up.

"Will you promise to not tell Pete about...about, well, you know." She cringed. Nora nodded.

"I do. But Penny, what you've been through is big. You don't have to keep it to yourself either. I know you can't tell Pete, but you can talk to me. That's an awful big thing to carry alone." She tried. Penny sighed, as she stood and headed for her room.

"Yeah," she said quietly, thinking Nora hadn't heard her, "but I have been for a long time."

But Nora heard her.


	17. Chapter 17: The Gogans

**Chapter Seventeen: The Gogans**

A whole three days had passed since the incident at the schoolhouse with Emily, and since Nora had discovered the truth about what had happened to Penny and it seemed as though everything was changing. Penny returned back to school the next day after the fight, and was forced to apologize to Emily, but Nora had been right there, telling Mrs. Tucker all about the situation, and even demanded an apology from Emily as well, which Mrs. Tucker was hesitant to allow, but Penny nearly glowed when Emily was forced to sputter she was sorry to Penny. Penny still couldn't believe Nora was on her side through all of that; it felt strange, to have someone believing her, caring enough to stand up for her. It was new to her, and she had to admit, when Emily had to apologize just like Penny did, she was grateful to Nora.

Still, Penny was resisting Nora, especially now. Knowing that Nora knew all about what had happened with Willie made Penny even more reluctant to go anywhere near Nora, afraid she would bring it up again. Penny didn't want to face it, never again. She didn't necessarily believe she was anymore safe at Nora's and Lampie's lighthouse than anywhere else, but Nora had a point - with an adult around, there would be less of a chance of the Gogans coming to get them. Still, Penny was waiting for the day the Gogans would crawl their way back into her life. No matter how many times they tried to run away, they were always found. It was only a matter of time.

It was now a Saturday afternoon and Pete and Penny were playing a game of cards that Lampie had taught them the night before. Penny didn't feel completely comfortable around Lampie. It wasn't as though he was creepy or mean, Penny just felt strange when he was around. She couldn't really figure out why. She wondered if it had something to do with what Willie did to her.

But Pete _loved_ him. But then, he loved being here altogether. He never had a single complaint, except for having to go to school. He wasn't a huge fan of school.

Penny won the third game in a row and Pete demanded another round. He was convinced he could actually beat Penny, but what he didn't realize was that she had been paying closer attention to how Lampie was strategizing his cards than Pete was, so whether he wanted to admit it or not, Penny was better than Pete was.

Into their fourth game was when Nora entered their room.

"Who's winning?" She asked. Pete sighed.

"Penny." He replied moodily. Penny didn't say anything, as usual. Nora smiled.

"Well, I was hoping you two would come with us. My dad and I are going to go fishing. Would you like to come?" She asked. Before Penny could even think about the whole prospect, Pete jumped to his feet excitedly.

"You mean it? Really? I've never been fishing before!" He exclaimed. Penny sighed. That was only half true. She remembered an old photograph of Pete and Penny standing with their dad, each holding a small fish near the lake. Of course, they were only two then. They didn't remember any of it.

Nora simply laughed.

"Alright, well then let's go!" She exclaimed, heading for the door. Pete jumped up to grab his shoes and put them on. Penny sighed, knowing she wouldn't exactly have a choice in the matter. If Pete wanted to go, she would have to. Nora wouldn't let her just sit around the lighthouse by herself. Even though she knew the children were old enough to take care of themselves (especially after years of doing so), Nora didn't like to.

So Penny reluctantly got up and hoped she wouldn't be one of those people who got seasick. The last thing she wanted was to be stuck in a boat with Pete, Lampie and Nora, and throw up everywhere.

Pete was already out the door when Penny put her shoes on. She was beginning to hate how neatly Pete was beginning to fall into this routine. He was already acting as though Nora was his mother and Lampie was some kind of loving grandfather of sorts. Penny wanted to box his ears sometimes. The only reason they were staying there was because Nora had been right, as reluctant as Penny had been to accept that. Alone, the two of them didn't stand a chance of they ran into the Gogans. At least with Lampie and Nora around, there was little chance of the Gogans showing up and taking the kids back.

Still, even with that added protection, Penny still had nightmares of the Gogans coming back.

It wasn't long before Pete, Penny, Nora and Lampie were at the dock in Passamaquoddy, Lampie pulling a small rowboat close to the side of the dock. Once he was holding it in place, Nora jumped into the boat and held out her hands to help Pete into the boat. Pete graciously accepted her hands and stumbled into the boat, giggling away.

"Is it sturdy enough for all of us?" Pete asked, nervously looking to his feet. Nora laughed.

"Don't worry Pete, it may be a little rocky, but we'll all fit quite nicely." She replied.

Penny, however, was incredibly unsure, as she looked at the boat cautiously. She swallowed.

"Penny, are you coming?" Nora asked, holding out her hands in the same way. Penny breathed out. Pete was already finding a spot to sit, trying hard to keep his balance. In that moment, it wasn't just the fear of the water that was holding her back. It was the whole picture that bothered her. Lampie holding the boat in place, Pete comfortably sitting in the boat, and Nora reaching out to her. It wasn't right, it wasn't real. Not to her. Nora was trying to make them all this happy family, and Pete was right there, ready for such a life. Penny was not.

She shook her head.

"No, I'm not coming." She took a step backwards, away from the water. Nora looked disappointed, sharing a glance with Lampie, who looked toward Penny.

"Why not, Penny? I was gonna show you how to catch lobsters." Lampie said in a slurred speech that made Pete laugh. Penny shook her head.

"I don't want to see any lobsters." She found a stump near the water and sat down. "I'll just wait here."

There was nothing else for Nora or Lampie to do but let Penny stay put. Pete watched her sadly, wishing more than anything else she was in the boat with them, but there was nothing they could do to convince her. Lampie couldn't do anything else but jump in the boat with Nora and Pete, and paddle out a little ways.

They didn't go very far, and Penny could see them the whole time. They had stayed in the harbour, no doubt because Nora didn't want to leave Penny too far behind by herself. Penny groaned. She was old enough to take care of herself. If it wasn't for the threat of the Gogans looming over them, she and Pete would have been gone ages ago.

Penny stole a glance up every once in a while to see Pete laughing as Lampie waved a live lobster around, pretending as though it were attacking him. Nora was in stitches as well, and Penny just sighed, turning away and focusing her attention on listening to the sounds of the water against the dock. She didn't want to hear the laughter. Every laugh she heard made her feel like Pete was drifting further and further away from her. He was becoming part of a family she couldn't allow herself to be a part of. She wasn't ready to trust, not like Pete was. Pete was so trusting, so filled with hope and happiness. Penny felt dead inside.

Just when she looked up and saw Pete holding up his first lobster, making a face and proclaiming how gross it was, Penny nearly jumped out of her skin when she heard a high pitch voice that she would recognize anywhere!

"Well if it isn't one of our little babies!" Penny jumped up and craned her neck in the direction of the voice and saw her.

Mrs. Gogan.

Penny quickly realized Mrs. Gogan was looking at Pete out on the boat with Nora and Lampie. She hadn't seen Penny. Penny ducked down carefully behind the little stump she had been sitting on. Her whole stomach was in knots, especially when three others joined her, all dirty and rough around the edges; the rest of the Gogan family.

Penny took a glance over at Pete, who was watching the Gogans with a great deal of fear in his eyes as he dropped his lobster back in the water.

"The Gogans!" Pete exclaimed fearfully as Nora's hand went to his shoulder. Penny felt sick to her stomach. This couldn't be happening! If they saw her here, there would be nothing she could do. She knew she couldn't outrun them, especially Grover; he was fast. Pete was out on the water, protected by Lampie and Nora. The Gogans were going to find her, grab her and take her back to that farm all alone. She thought she was going to throw up as she carefully tried to back away from the Gogans, who were only standing feet in front of her. She had to be quiet; even though they were focused on Pete, any sudden noise would divert their attention and she would be toast. She suddenly found herself wishing Elliott were here.

"Why Pete look at you in those new clothes! You look so handsome. Where's yer pretty little sister?" Mrs. Gogan chimed, flashing that smile she forced when she was in the eye of the public. Pete wasn't fooled, and neither was Nora, who stepped forward with as much grace as she could muster, still standing in the boat. Penny suddenly found herself thankful that nobody in that boat looked for her. If the Gogans saw Pete looking at Penny, they would surely find her.

Pete seemed to be struggling for words, but Nora grabbed his hand for support and shook her head at him, as though to say he didn't have to answer them.

"Who's that pertty lady who's with you, Petey?" Willie asked as he and Grover both stared at Nora with hungry eyes. Penny felt bile in her stomach forming when she heard Willie talk, but Nora barely batted an eye.

"I'm Nora, and both Pete _and_ Penny are staying with _me!"_ She exclaimed as she planted her hands firmly on her hips. Penny swallowed hard. Did she even know who she was dealing with? Didn't Nora listen to _anything_ Pete or Penny said about the Gogans? Mrs. Gogan raised an eyebrow.

"Did you hear that, boys? It sounds like this lady is trying to break up our happy little family." She said, eyeing up her husband and sons. They all laughed those evil laughs that still haunted Penny at night.

"Happy family?" Nora laughed. "You've done nothing to make these children happy."

"Listen lady, you best be mindin' yer own business. We bought them kids fair and square. They belong with us." Mr. Gogan said.

"They don't belong with you. Those children deserve far better than what you've been giving them! All you've done up 'til now is break their hearts!" Nora announced, hands still on hips. Penny swallowed. Fear was eating her up inside, and what made it worse was that she didn't even have Pete to cling to. He was too far away.

"We're bringin' them kids back with us now, missy. Don't make this difficult." Mr. Gogan spat. Nora raised an eyebrow.

"I'll be as difficult as I need to be to protect these children. You've abused them, and used them. You can't have them! You don't love them! So back off, or I'll rip you apart!"

"Listen lady, this ends here! We got us a bill of sale right here that says them brat twins belong to us! They cost us a pretty penny and they's coming with us right now!" Mrs. Gogan screamed out, waving a piece of paper around above her head. "Where is that sister of yours, _Pete?"_

Everything happened so quickly, because Pete did exactly what Penny feared he would.

He looked right at her!

And then all the Gogans turned and stared at Penny.

"There's that little brat! Git her!" Mrs. Gogan shouted, as Willie and Grover sprung over a small fence and darted toward Penny.

Penny turned and ran at top speed, unaware of everything that was happening all around her. She never looked back, but she could hear both Willie and Grover shouting from behind her. Judging by the closeness of their voices, they weren't that far behind her.

Penny had no idea how her legs were carrying her this fast, but she would not stop, she _wouldn't!_ If she could stop them from taking her back, she would.

She was vaguely aware of Pete yelling her name, but she would not turn around or falter. She couldn't let Mr. Gogan strap her with his belt again. She couldn't let Willie touch her again.

"Penny, git back here!" Grover shouted from not far behind her.

"You can't outrun us, pretty Penny!" Willie added, and his eerie voice was gaining on her; she could feel it.

Penny felt tears in her eyes as she turned a corner and realized she had hit a dead end. She could no longer hear Pete, she was alone, and there wasn't any way out, not with Willie and Grover just around the corner.

Sure enough, both of the Gogan boys rounded the corner and saw her standing there, alone and frightened. They laughed, they actually _laughed._

"We got her, ma!" Grover shouted as he advanced, Willie right behind him. Penny just cried as she watched, her back pressed up against the wall, with nothing left to do now but let them take her. She'd never be able to fight them off, not by herself.

"Come to Willie!" Willie said, as he reached out to grab hold of Penny. Before Penny even had a chance to close her eyes, she felt a small wind brush past her and before she could even make sense of what was happening, both Willie and Grover were swung off of the ground and thrown into the water with a gigantic splash. Penny let out the breath she had been holding as she realized Elliott had shown up. He was still invisible, but she saw him, and she knew she would never be able to thank him enough for being there when he was. How he had known where to be and what was happening, she would never know, but for the second time in the last little while, Elliott had saved her.

Penny was breathing heavily as she remained rooted to the spot, staring into the water where Grover and Willie splashed around idiotically, yelling at the other, trying to figure out what could have possibly thrown them into the water. Penny breathed out and looked up at Elliott, who was still invisible. Before she even had a chance to say anything, tears still flooding her eyes, Pete appeared round the bend, and ran toward Penny with wide eyes.

"What happened?" He yelled out, not even seeing Elliott. Penny breathed out, biting her lip to stop herself from crying again.

"Willie and Grover were comin' after me. I came down here, and it was a dead end. They almost had me, Pete." She forced herself not to cry here. "But then...Elliott was here. He threw 'em in the water." Pete turned around then and saw Elliott. He offered Elliot a smile as he breathed out.

"Thanks Elliott." Pete said, giving the dragon a pat on the tail. "You must have done the same thing with Mr. and Mrs. Gogan 'cause they're in the lake too!" Elliott laughed from his belly and nodded that he had, in fact, dunked the Gogan parents as well. Pete laughed too, but Penny didn't find any of this funny. Didn't Pete realize that the Gogans had nearly taken Penny? The Gogans had found them. Didn't he understand what that _meant?_

Elliott said goodbye to the children when he realized Nora was coming around the corner and as he flew away, Nora rounded the bend and found Pete and Penny talking. Penny looked away, refusing to look Nora in the eye. Nora breathed out.

"They're gone. The Gogans pulled themselves out of the lake and ran off. You're safe." She explained, her eyes never leaving Penny. "Are you alright, Penny?"

Penny lost it.

"Safe? We're _safe?_ How are we safe? The Gogans found us here! They're not going to leave until we're with them!" Penny yelled out, and then took a breath out and lowered her voice a little. "You said we'd be safe with you, but you were wrong."

With that, Penny stalked past Pete and Nora and walked back out onto the dock, beginning the walk back to the lighthouse. She didn't know what she was going to do, what she and _Pete_ were going to do now that the Gogans had found their way to Passamaquoddy. For now, all she could think about was what it felt like to be stuck in that little alleyway all alone, with nobody to help her. Thankfully Elliott had come to her rescue once again, but after Nora's promise to keep her safe from the Gogans, she couldn't help but feel disappointed.


	18. Chapter 18: Stay or Go

Penny made it back to the lighthouse before Lampie, Nora and Pete did, but that was only because she ran. She was _so _angry, but more than that, she was afraid. She thought she was safe, but she hadn't been, she had _never_ been safe. How could she have even believed, even for a second, that they would be safe? Why had she let Pete talk her into staying? If they had left that day, instead of stay, like Pete asked her to, they would be so far away from the Gogans by now, there would be no chance of them ever finding them. Now, the Gogans were in Passamaquoddy. How were they _ever_ going to get out now?

It didn't matter, Penny had to try something. The hungry fever burning behind Willie's eyes when he saw her would haunt her for nights to come. She couldn't go back to that. She hated herself for even thinking for a short moment that maybe, just maybe, she could trust Nora.

Penny sat quietly on her bed, waiting for Pete to get back. She had to talk to him to _only_ him. He would have to understand. Penny knew how much Pete wanted to stay, but he would have to understand what the circumstances were now. Things were different - their past was right on their trail.

Penny heard the door opening, and she waited quietly, hoping it would be only Pete to come to her. If it wasn't, she would have to tell Nora to beat it - she had to talk to Pete, and it was private.

Luckily, it was just Pete who came in then. He was awfully quiet when he came in, closing the door quietly behind him. He picked up on it quickly - he and Penny had to talk, alone.

Penny waited until Pete sat beside her on his bed and the two of them were simply silent for a few minutes. Penny didn't want to hurt her brother; she knew he didn't want to leave, but she didn't know what else to do.

But before she even had the chance to open her mouth, Pete spoke first.

"I know what you're going to say." He said quietly. "You think because the Gogans are here, we have to leave." Penny only raised an eyebrow.

"Well what _else_ are we supposed to do?" She snapped. "If you think we should stay here, you're crazy!"

"I _do_ think we should stay here, and I'm _not_ crazy!" Pete snapped back. "Don't you think it's safer to stay with grownups then it is to try and leave all by ourselves?"

"We're not by ourselves! We have Elliott!"

"Yeah well Elliott thinks we should stay too!"

"Have you two been talking behind my back?"

"Well you never listen, so sometimes we _have_ to!"

"I'm trying to make important decisions for our lives, Pete! We can't just stay here because you're happy! The Gogans'll find us!"

"No they won't, Nora promised-"

"Why do you trust her so much? She promised to keep us safe, but they still came for us, didn't they? Willie and Grover still cornered me, _didn't they?_ She didn't save us from the Gogans today, Pete, Elliott did! She's not gonna keep any promise of hers, because she _can't!_" Penny shouted. Before Pete could even retaliate, the door opened and in walked Nora, looking from Pete to Penny seriously.

"I heard the two of you shouting." She pointed out, seemingly concerned. "Is everything alright?"

Penny didn't respond, she simply crossed her arms and looked the other way. Pete, on the other hand, sighed.

"I don't know, Nora. Things are just..." he looked at Penny, "difficult." Penny rolled her eyes.

"I see." Nora said, taking a step further. "Is there anything I can do to help?"

"Well-" Pete started, but Penny shook her head.

"No, there isn't! We have to make a decision, and only we can make it." Penny spat, keeping her arms crossed and staring at Nora. Nora didn't yell at her, or even raise an eyebrow. She just smiled. _Smiled._

"I understand, but if you do need my help, I'll just be right outside." She turned to leave. "Oh, and I do hope you won't fight too harshly. Remember, you are brother and sister, after all. Nothing is more important than family." Those being her final words, Nora left, closing the door behind her.

Pete and Penny sat in silence, staring at the floor and avoiding eye contact with each other. Penny sighed; Nora was right. Nothing was more important to Penny in all of the world than her brother. She didn't want to hurt him, by making him leave, but she didn't want to stay, not when the Gogans were so close. It was in her nature to want to run. Run far away from whatever problems she was facing. Pete wasn't like that, though. He was better than she was, in a lot of ways. He was brave - he wanted to face his problems. Penny didn't know how to do that.

"Penny, I'm sorry." Pete said quietly. Penny breathed out.

"Me too." She admitted. Another silence followed then, before Pete finally said something.

"What are we going to do?" He asked. "How are we going to make a decision if we can't agree?" Penny sighed, that was a good question - she didn't know. She wanted her way, because she felt like it was the _only_ way, but Pete wanted his way, the way he thought was right. It was a predicament, that was for sure.

A thought came to her, then. She didn't like the thought, but she had to be fair. Neither of them were going to agree on the best course of action, so they had to go to an external source.

"Why don't we ask Elliott to decide?" She asked. She didn't like the idea very much, because if Pete was right about Elliott thinking they should stay, then Elliott would side with Pete, but she did know that Elliott didn't play favourites. Besides, the tables were turned now. The Gogans were here. Elliott would decide what he thought was best for the children, no matter which of the twins he ended up siding with.

Pete nodded his agreement, obviously thinking the same thing, but the two got up and headed out of their room.

Nora looked up at the twins, waiting to hear what they had to say. Penny, of course, wasn't saying a word. Pete jumped in.

"Nora, we have to go for a walk. We need to talk to Elliott about something important." He explained. Penny swallowed, looking away. She still didn't like offering information about Elliott to adults. Nobody believed in dragons. She certainly didn't, not until she met one for herself.

Nora simply nodded, and the twins left the lighthouse.

Neither Pete nor Penny said anything on their way down to the caves. They didn't have to. They both knew that whatever Elliott decided today, one of the two wouldn't be happy. But sometimes, these things had to be done.

Elliott greeted them outside of the cave like he always did since Penny nearly drowned. He understood Penny didn't want to go inside anymore.

Elliott seemed glad to see them, and asked them how they were feeling after the Gogan scare.

"Actually, Elliott, that's why we came to talk to you." Pete said, as the three sat down on the beach. Elliott made sure he was invisible, of course. "After everything that happened with the Gogans today, Penny and I started fighting because we have to make a decision." Elliott listened intently.

"Well the problem is, we both want different things. We can't make this decision, because either way, one of us won't be happy." Penny paused, hating this. "So...we need you to make the decision for us."

Elliott made a noise in his throat and protested, waving his arms in the air. Pete shook his head.

"No, no, Elliott. We won't be mad with what you decide. We promise! Right Penny?" Pete asked, staring over at Penny. Penny bit her lip. Truth was, if Elliott sided with Pete, she would be upset, but no, she couldn't get mad at Elliott. It wouldn't be his fault. Besides, Pete and Penny already decided this was the best way.

"Yeah, I promise, Elliott. I won't get mad." She agreed. Elliott breathed out in relief, and sat back to listen to the predicament.

"Well...the Gogans found us." Penny stated the obvious. Elliott nodded. "Well, so I think it's a bad idea to stay here. I mean, the Gogans know we're in Passamaquoddy now! And they _saw_ Nora and Lampie! They won't leave this town now until they have Pete and I with them! You know how they are, Elliott! They ain't gonna give up! So, _I_ think we ought to leave, run away. You could help us get out of here fast, Elliott. We outran 'em before, we could do it again. We could try to go to China! The Gogans would never find us there. You could fly there, couldn't ya Elliott?" Penny asked. Elliott waved his finger, informing Penny he wouldn't say anything until he heard Pete's side of things. Penny stubbornly crossed her arms and waited. Pete, stating his case in a more calm and reserved way, started.

"Well Elliott, I know Penny's scared. I am too, but I really trust Nora, and Lampie too. Nora promised us she'd take care of us and protect us from the Gogans. I believe her, and so I don't think we should run. I think it's a good idea to stay with Nora and Lampie, because they can help us figure out what to do. They're real nice." He swallowed, stealing a glance at Penny. "I don't think we should go to China."

"But if we don't go to China, the Gogans will find us!"

"They might not. Nora would protect us."

"She didn't protect us so good today!"

"It's only 'cause you weren't in the boat."

Elliott raised his hand again, and told the twins that he had enough information to make a decision, but he didn't want to hear them fight while he thought, so he had to fly away for a few minutes. Without another word from the twins, Elliott flew off and rounded the cave, plopping himself up on top to do some serious thinking.

Pete and Penny simply sat there, watching him in silence. The picked at the sand, they picked at loose threads on their clothes, they picked at their fingernails. But they didn't speak. Both of them had butterflies in their stomachs. Penny really hoped Elliott would come back and say it was time to go to China, but she hated to think of what that would do to Pete.

It didn't take long, and soon Elliott was circling again and landed right beside the twins. Neither Pete nor Penny said anything. Their hearts were hammering too hard.

Elliott looked at Penny. Then he looked at Pete. He breathed out, and made them promise once again that they wouldn't be mad at him. Once Pete and Penny gave him their word, their true word, he breathed out again, and told them what his decision was.

He thought they should stay with Nora and Lampie.

Penny sat frozen, ignoring the small smile creeping on Pete's face. She felt sick to her stomach as she thought of the Gogans being so close to them. What if they found out where they were staying? Oh no!

She stared at Elliott, who wouldn't look her in the eye. She understood why. She knew what her attitude was like at times. He was worried.

"Elliott, I'm not mad at you." She said, her voice quavering a little bit. "I just want to know why. Why should we stay?"

Pete waited just as Penny waited. Elliott didn't look at Penny, because he knew Penny wasn't going to like the answer. It didn't matter anyway, his decision was final, and both twins knew that, but Penny at least needed a reason.

Elliott and sighed and told her why.

It was because the twins needed someone to love them.


	19. Chapter 19: Over

**Chapter Nineteen: Over**

It had been three days since Elliott had made his decision, and Penny was still feeling anxious. Every night, she had nightmares about the Gogans finding them. Everyday, she was looking over her shoulder as Nora walked them to school. Nora had told the twins that if they saw the Gogans at school, they were to run and tell Mrs. Tucker to phone Nora immediately and stay in the building until she arrived.

Penny had to admit, Nora was trying real hard to make sure the twins were safe. Of course, Penny would never admit that to Pete, because as far as she was concerned, leaving was still the better option.

At least she had finally made a friend at school. Surprisingly, it was Emily. It was two days ago, and Penny had been sitting all alone like she usually did at recess, while Pete went and played with the boys. When Emily approached her, Penny had expected another fight, but instead, Emily asked her if she wanted to play hopscotch with her. At first, Penny was suspiscious, but she agreed and the two had a lot of fun. Now, she and Emily played together at every recess and lunch hour. Penny had never had a real friend before. It had always been just her and Pete.

Penny was noticing that Nora was watching her differently too. She wondered if it had anything to do with what she had told her. It made her nervous, truth be told. She feared Nora saying something in front of Pete accidentally, or asking her if she wanted to talk some more about it, especially after the confrontation with the Gogans three days ago. Penny already regretted telling Nora; she didn't want to bring it up ever again.

But, things felt less awkward at the lighthouse, at least in comparison to her first couple of days. Penny shyly began to join card games between Nora, Pete and Lampie, and even though she hardly said anything, it was a big step. She was even beginning to laugh at Lampie's jokes. He wasn't as scary as she thought he was. He even told her she was beautiful one night and Penny didn't cry. It wasn't like when Willie said it. Lampie was different.

Even though it seemed as though everything were getting better for Pete and Penny, there was the impending fear that the Gogans were near. She knew how they worked, they weren't going to leave until they had the twins. It didn't matter who stood in their way; they paid for Pete and Penny, and they weren't going to lose them without a fight.

That's what made Penny nervous everyday.

Nora picked up on it. Everyday, she saw Penny glancing over her shoulder on their way to school. Every night, she saw that panicked look in Penny's eyes before she went to bed. Nora wished she knew how to help the poor girl feel safe, but in all honesty, Nora didn't know _how_ she was going to continue to keep them safe as long as the Gogans were in Passamaquoddy. From what Pete told Nora, the Gogans didn't give up easily. Apart from getting that bill of sale away from them that proved the twins belonged to the Gogans, Nora was at a loss. She would just have to continue to keep them near, for as long as she could before she figured out another plan.

It was a Friday evening, and it was raining hard. Penny stared out the window, feeling rather mopey. Usually, after dinner, Pete and Penny went out and played catch with an old baseball that Lampie found for them. It was rather disappointing.

Penny sighed, resting her face against her hand as glared at the rain with tired eyes. Pete was behind her, trying to build card castles, but failing. He exhaled.

"I'm bored." He complained. Penny nodded in full agreement.

"I wish it would stop raining." She pointed out.

"Me too." Pete added. Penny turned to him and crossed her arms. Nora wasn't there - she had to go into town to buy some new oil for the lighthouse. Lampie was already asleep - he usually went to bed really early. Penny had an idea.

"Well, I know it's raining, but maybe we could play catch anyway." She said with a shrug. Pete furrowed his brow.

"Why would we want to do that? We'd get all wet!" He complained.

"Well not really. Nora bought us those raincoats. Yeah we'd get a little wet, but at least we wouldn't be _bored!_" Penny exclaimed. Pete wasn't sure, he kept looking toward the front door. Penny rolled her eyes.

"You think we're gonna get in trouble?" She asked. His lack of a response answered her question. "Nora never said we couldn't go play in the rain."

"Yeah, but she told us a few days ago you could catch a cold if you stayed out too long in the rain."

"Well, we won't stay out long then. Come on, Pete, I'm _so_ bored!" Penny whined. Pete sighed, and gathered his cards in his hand.

"Well, alright then." He replied, as he jumped up and ran toward their bedroom. Penny chased after him, laughing the whole time as they changed into their old overalls and donned their new yellow raincoats.

"Wait, don't forget the rainhats!" Pete said, grabbing the rainhats that went with their jackets. Penny giggled when Pete put his on. They looked so silly!

Penny reached under the bunk beds for the baseball, and they ran outside, hearing the faint sound of Lampie's snoring from the next room.

The rain was coming down in buckets, and both Pete and Penny yelped when the rain began to pelt down on them, but by now, they had been consumed by fits of giggles, and everything seemed funny.

Running out to the sand, making sure to stay far enough away from the crashing waves of the ocean, they began to play catch.

"I think one day, I want to be a baseball player!" Pete exclaimed, throwing the ball to Penny, who caught it easily. She laughed.

"You're gonna have to throw harder than that to be able to play baseball like the famous baseball players." She replied, tossing it back. Pete nodded as he caught it.

"Okay, how's this?" He tossed the ball, and it flew past Penny, but only just, as it landed in the sand only a few feet away from her. Laughing, she picked up the ball and turned back to Pete, shaking her head.

"You'll have to do better than that!" She bent her arm back. "Like _this!"_ She hurled the ball as hard as she could and it flew past Pete, _way_ past Pete. Penny even surprised herself. The ball landed a good twenty five feet away from where Pete was standing, behind a dumster in the neighbor's front yard. Pete sighed.

"Ah come on, Penny, are you gonna make me go get that?" He whined. Penny spread her arms out.

"It ain't _my_ fault you didn't catch it. If this were _really_ baseball and you were playing outfield, you'd have to go get it anyway. If you're gonna be a baseball player one day, you need the practice." She was quite pleased with her reasoning, and Pete rolled his eyes before finally turning to get the ball. He began to jog toward the dumster. At least he was a fast runner, Penny thought, as he disappeared behind the dumster.

"Come on, we don't got all-"

"Gotcha!" Penny nearly screamed when she felt rough, calloused hands pulling at her arm and legs, causing her to fall to the mucky sand. Her face hit the sand hard, and she had to spit sand out of her mouth as she scrambled, but those rough hands kept grabbing at her. She kicked back a couple of times and managed to struggle enough away to catch a glimpse of her attackers, and that was when she saw Willie and Grover! She started to scream.

Grover smacked her clean across the face as Willie pulled out a red hankerchief from his pocket, and jammed it into Penny's mouth, tying it behind her head while Grover held her down, staring at her gleefully.

"You thought you could outsmart us, did yeh? We just weren't ready to let you kids get away that easily!" Grover said with a toothless grin, as he held Penny's arms over her head, his heavy body holding her down. His weight was too much - she couldn't struggle against it. Willie smirked.

"Yeah, especially _you_ Penny." He added. Penny kicked as hard as she could with what limited freedom she had, and screamed, which only earned her another hard smack. It stung, and she felt her vision blur from the shock for a minute. Her heart was hammering wildly against her chest as she frantically tried to look around. _Where_ was Pete, Penny wondered as tears clouded her eyes.

It didn't matter how hard she kicked, or how loud she tried to scream, the rain drowned her out, and soon, Grover grabbed a handful of her hair, hoisting her up to her to her knees, while Willie yanked Penny's arms in front of her, wrapping tight ropes around her wrists. Penny could barely move, Grover had yanked her head so far back, her neck hurt, and her head was pounding from him pulling on her hair. She felt a whimper escape from her throat.

Grover lifted her up off off the ground and hoisted her over his shoulder with ease, while Willie roughly tousled Penny's hair with a sadistic laugh.

"Time to go home, Penny!" He said as he glared into Penny's tear streaked face. "Well, home away from home. Just an old warehouse in town here but it works until we git yer brother and git back home." Willie looked around the beach. "Yah hear that Petey boy? We're comin' back here for you!"

Willie glanced at Penny with hungry eyes.

"But not tonight." He lowered his voice so Grover wouldn't hear. "Tonight's _our_ night."

Penny kicked hard as Grover simply laughed at her attempts to escape, and Willie kept touching her arm, her hair, her face as the two men ran down the beach, laughing and acting as though the whole thing were a game. Penny couldn't do anything. It didn't matter how hard she struggled, she wouldn't escape. It didn't matter how hard she tried to scream, they would only keep hitting her, but that wasn't what she feared.

She cried as she thought of Pete, who was only a few feet away. Why wasn't he helping, and _where_ was Elliott?

It was over. She was defeated. The things the Gogans would do to her for running away, the things _Willie _would do to her.

It scared her, and no matter how hard she tried to numb herself from what was happening, it was inevitable. She would feel it all.

* * *

Pete clung to the side of the dumster as he watched around the corner with fear in his heart and tears in his eyes. He had seen the whole thing. Grover and Willie sneaking up on his sister, tackling her, tying her up and runnig off with her. He couldn't move, he was frozen to the spot. Part of him knew he could go after her, and try to fight Willie and Grover, but he knew he wouldn't be able to do anything. They would just overpower him and take him too.

No, he had to be able to help Penny.

As Grover and Willie disappeared into the night, Pete cried, hoping Penny wouldn't get too bad a beating. His heart hammering in his chest, he waited for some time before he ran back toward the lighthouse, not even seeing Penny's hat that had been left behind.


	20. Chapter 20: The Gogans and the Warehouse

**Chapter Twenty: The Gogans and the Warehouse**

Willie and Grover kept to the back alleys, obviously not wanting to attract any attention. They had, after all, just tied up a little girl, and Grover was carrying her on his shoulder, while she kicked and screamed. Walking through the streets would _definitely_ attract attention.

Penny didn't think she had any tears left, any _strength_ left to keep kicking. Her legs hurt, and the more Penny kicked and fought, the tighter Grover clung to her. Now, her breathing was laboured, because he was squeezing so hard. Part of her hoped they'd get to the warehouse soon, just so he would put her down.

But then, she feared that more than anything else; the warehouse where she would have to face not only Willie and Grover, but Mr. and Mrs. Gogan as well. Four against one. She didn't stand a chance.

A small tear trickled down her cheek as Willie and Grover took her around a corner, whispering quietly among themselves. The rain had stopped, at least, but Penny's wet hair still clung to the sides of her face, her whole body trembling from the cold. The raincoat did nothing to keep the chill out of her. She was soaked from top to bottom.

"You sure you goin' the right way, Grov?" Willie asked in a hushed, hoarse voice as they ducked into another alleyway.

"Yeah, bro, I'm sure. Geez, you thinkin' I wouldn't remember the way? You jus' let me worry about gettin' us back, and you make sure little miss don't scream none." Grover replied as he turned a corner fast enough to make Penny's stomach lurch.

It wasn't long before they stopped, and Penny managed a glance up and saw a large, abandoned old warehouse, and her heart stopped.

They were here.

She began squirming again, but knew it would be fruitless, as Willie and Grover approached the side door, laughing.

"Boy, will Ma an' Pa be happy to see _you_, little miss!" Willie whooped as he began jumping in a mock dance. Grover laughed quietly.

"Boy, Penny, I wouldn't wish to be you _tonight._ Yer gonna get a lickin' like you ain't never seen before." He was enjoying every minute of this. Penny felt fresh tears starting.

While Willie opened up the large door, Penny couldn't help but think of Pete. By now, he must have noticed she was missing. Would he have told Elliott? Was Elliott out there somewhere, flying above Passamaquoddy trying to find her? She had to have hope that someone was coming for her. She only hoped they would get here before...

"Hey Ma! Look what the cat dragged in!" Willie shouted out as he and Grover entered the warehouse, slamming the door hard behind them. Grover pulled Penny down off his shoulder, but he still kept her hoisted up off the ground, holding her up around her middle like a fresh bass from the lake. It was hurting Penny's stomach muscles, and she cried out, but it was pointless; Willie's hankerchief blocked her every sound.

Willie and Grover stood proudly displaying their prize, when Mr. and Mrs. Gogan out from another room. Penny's eyes widened when she saw the looks crossing their faces. Mrs. Gogan showed her black teeth in a wide grin, her eyebrows narrowing as she slowly approached her.

"Well, well, well." She said in her usual mocking voice. "If it isn't our own sweet little girl." She stopped right in front of Penny, and Penny wanted to scream. Mr. Gogan came forward and stared at Willie and then at Grover. He didn't look as pleased as Mrs. Gogan had.

"Well, where's the other one?" He asked. "Where's _Pete_?" Willie looked to Grover, and Penny realized the two brothers had planned this from the beginning - they only wanted Penny tonight. They left Pete behind on purpose. It made Penny's insides boil with fear. Not Grover too. It had never been Grover, oh _no!_

Penny began to cry as Grover tried to explain.

"He wasn't there, Pa! Penny was just out by herself so we took her! Don't worry, we're goin' back for Pete tomorrow!" He said. Mr. Gogan seemed to accept this as he glared at Penny with a toothless grin.

"Put her down, Grover." He said roughly, and without a word, Grover dropped Penny, who crumpled to the floor in a helpless heap, hands still tightly bound. Mrs. Gogan dropped to her knees, and grabbed a fistful of Penny's hair, yanking her head back so she could look into her face.

"You been a _naughty_ little girl, haven't ya? Well, yer gonna pay for that! We ain't happy we had to leave our happy little home and come lookin' for you two! When you gonna git it through your _thick_ skull that you belong to us? Yer gonna be sorry you ever thought of crossin' us!" Mrs. Gogan was yelling now, and Penny could feel her spit flying in her face.

Mrs. Gogan grabbed the hankerchief in Penny's mouth and yanked it down, as Penny let out a small breath. Penny tried to hide the tears, but Mrs. Gogan saw them.

"Aww, what you cryin' for? You brought it on yerself, y'know! What, does it hurt?" Mrs. Gogan had noticed Penny's clenched teeth from having her hair pulled back. "This ain't nothin', ya little brat!" Mrs. Gogan roughly released Penny and stood up laughing.

"What should we do to her?" Willie asked excitedly. Penny swallowed, still kneeling on the floor, afraid to even move.

"Well, she's gonna be gettin' beatings for months to come for this, but tonight," Mrs. Gogan considered, laughing to herself. "Tonight will be the worst of it! Pa here will give her tonight's beating." She ignored the sounds of disappointment coming from the two boys. "You'll git your chance! Pa has the severest beatins' of 'em all, so Penny will deal with him tonight. Pa, go on an' take her to the far room and work your magic! Then lock her up!"

Penny began to tremble as Mr. Gogan walked over angrily, and grabbed hold of the ropes around Penny's wrists, and yanked her up, leaving rope burns on Penny's wrists, but she tried not to think about that. It would be nothing in comparison.

As Mr. Gogan dragged her through the warehouse, down to the end, toward a small corner, Penny tried to imagine all the tears she had spilled for beatings she had received while living with the Gogans; she couldn't imagine it ever being any worse, but tonight, tonight it would be.

Mr. Gogan roughly pushed her into a small, empty, concrete room, where Penny fell to the floor once again. Mr. Gogan came in, reaching into his pocket for his pocketknife. When Penny looked up, and saw the man standing over her with a knife, she inched further back, finding her back pressed up against the wall as he came toward her. She closed her eyes as he crouched down in front of her, but quickly realized he was only cutting her ropes. She looked up at him, and saw the evil in his eyes. He was looking forward to this.

"Y'know, I have half a mind to just cut you right open with this here knife! You kids, no respect! Is that ingratitude for ya, or what? We give ya a home and ya run off in the middle of the night." Mr. Gogan had the ropes off, but Penny feared moving in any way. "You'll be sorry, and after tonight, maybe you'll think twice about ever crossin' us again!"

Mr. Gogan stood then, and began unfastening his belt, as Penny held her breath. The belt hurt, _oh_, but it hurt! She felt her whole body trembling as he pulled the belt through his pants' loops and held it in his right hand, his strong hand.

"Stand up." He said simply. Knowing from experience how much worse a beating could get if you disobeyed, she shakily staggered her way to her feet, looking down, hoping it would be quick.

"Take off yer coat." Mr. Gogan ordered, and Penny immediately closed her eyes. She had hoped, oh she had hoped, he wouldn't let her take the raincoat off. It would have blocked some powerful blows, make them less painful. Now, she would be helpless.

She cried as she took off the coat and let it drop to the floor, feeling more and more vulnerable.

That was all Mr. Gogan needed. With a low grunt of a laugh escaping the back of his throat, he raised the belt.

The first blow came down on Penny hard, slapping down hard on her left shoulder, sending her down to the concrete floor, banging up her knees and elbows as she tried to brace herself. Mr. Gogan didn't even wait, he lifted the belt again, and delivered a second, stronger, blow to Penny's back.

Penny let out a loud cry then, and somewhere out in the main room, she could hear laughter, the laughter of Mrs. Gogan, of Willie and Grover. The blows kept on coming, slicing her arm, slapping her neck, weakening her ankles, numbing her back. She continued to scream, not knowing any other way to react, _oh_, but it hurt! Tears flew from her eyes, as she cowered under the menacing sound of the belt piercing through the air to collide with her skin, her body.

She sobbed without restraint, having no strength left to be strong. She wasn't strong, she had never been strong, all the years of trying to be cold hadn't worked. She was a rag doll under that belt, and Mr. Gogan just kept on going, laughing to himself as the sounds of Penny's cries filled the warehouse.

"Had enough yet, Penny?" Mr. Gogan asked with a bit of a laugh, delivering one last blow to Penny, immediately starting a fresh bruise on Penny's left arm. Penny stayed on the ground, sobbing and shaking. Every part of her body hurt, she had never been beaten like that before, not ever. He wouldn't stop, he wouldn't _stop._ It was a nightmare that hadn't even started.

Mr. Gogan threw his belt out of the room, and grabbed Penny by her arm, which hurt severely, as he hoisted her up to her feet. Penny met his gaze and his wild eyes met hers. She trembled like a leaf in his grasp.

"Yer not gonna try escaping again, are yeh?" Mr. Gogan said through clenched teeth. Penny couldn't find her voice, she was so frightened.

"Say 'no, Mr. Gogan.' Tell me, Penny." He squeezed her arm tightly, causing her to wince. "_Tell me!_"

"N-n-no, Mr. G-Gogan." Penny stuttered, not knowing what else to say. Mr. Gogan stared at her for a moment, squeezing her tighter and tighter, until fresh tears fell from her eyes. He then began to laugh.

"Yeh ain't never gonna escape again, Penny, that's darn right! Because we ain't never lettin' you out of our sight again. You thought tonight was bad? That's just somethin' to look forward to every night for the rest of yer life!" He released Penny's arm and pushed her hard into the concrete wall behind her. She fell to her knees, and slowly watched as Mr. Gogan left the room, slamming the door behind her. As Penny gathered her knees in her arms, she heard the small click that was Mr. Gogan locking her into complete darkness. No lamp, no window, nothing but darkness.

Penny had always been afraid of the dark, but tonight, there were worse things to fear.

She carefully and gently rubbed her sore arms, her sore legs, mentally counting the number of bruises her body would have the next morning. She sobbed, thinking of Pete as her whole body shook with fear. The darkness wasn't what she feared, no, not tonight.

She wondered how long it would take before Willie showed up.


	21. Chapter 21: Nora, Meet Elliott

**Chapter Twenty One: Nora, Meet Elliot**

Pete was running as fast as his legs would carry him. He went to the lighthouse first, but he quickly found that Nora had not come home yet, and Lampie was asleep so deeply, Pete couldn't wake him.

It wasn't raining anymore, as he ran his way down to the caves. He had to tell Elliott, and then he would find Nora. She had to help him.

He knew he didn't have a lot of time - every moment he stalled was another moment Penny would get beaten, and Pete didn't want to think about that. He also knew he couldn't stay at the lighthouse alone - it was only a matter of time before the Gogans came back for him, and he wouldn't be able to help Penny at all if he was taken too.

"Elliott!" He screamed as he entered the cave, and it didn't take long for the big, green dragon to become visible again and shine a giant smile at Pete, mumbling happily. It didn't last long, though, Elliott quickly realized something was very wrong.

"Elliott, we've gotta do something. The Gogans came tonight, they _took_ Penny!" Pete exclaimed as hot tears fell from his eyes. Elliott's eyes widened and he growled fiercely, managing to ask Pete where they had gone. Pete shook his head.

"I don't know, Elliott, I just heard 'em say something about an old warehouse in town. They said they're only staying there until they get me, then they would take us back to the farm. Elliott, we have to find her! Will you fly over Passamaquoddy and find warehouses? I'm going to go find Nora. She's in town, I need to find her." He replied. Elliott nodded, but suggested flying Pete into town since he was headed that way anyway.

Pete climbed up onto Elliott's back and waited while Elliott rendered himself invisible, and they flew off into the night. Pete watched as the beach below disappeared, and the town came into focus. Pete sighed, hoping that wherever Penny was, she was going to be okay.

Elliott dropped Pete near the bank, where Nora said she would be going and he gave Pete a hug, tried to offer words of reassurance.

"Please find her, Elliott, and when you do, find me. We have to save her!" Pete said worriedly. Elliott nodded and flew away, becoming invisible again. Pete felt so alone, so frightened, but he had to forget that for now. He would have to be brave tonight, brave enough to face the Gogans, if he had to. He knew he couldn't do it alone.

Feeling the cold wind against his face, freezing his tears, he ran down the street, looking in every direction, trying to find her, find Nora. What if she had decided to go somewhere else? What if she was already walking back to the lighthouse, and he just hadn't seen her in the air? He looked everywhere, he couldn't see her. He felt defeated, frightened, alone.

"Pete?"

Pete swirled around to find Nora looking at him, confused, as she approached him quickly. Feeling afraid and relieved at the same time, he ran toward her, falling into her open arms with tears flying everywhere. Nora stroked his hair, shushing him, but, sensing the urgency of his being here, pulled him away from herself and stared at him.

"What's the matter?" She asked, as calmly as she could muster. Something was seriously wrong, and Nora immediately had a bad feeling.

"Where's Penny?" She asked, fearing she already knew the answer. She knew she shouldn't have left the children alone. Her father was great, but...

"T-they came and t-took her. Penny and me, we were j-just playing outside...I knew we shouldn't of played in the r-rain, but she wanted to, and, and Lampie was asleep. W-willie and G-grover, they p-pushed her down, an', and t-tied her up and t-took her." Pete couldn't stop crying. Nora felt her stomach jolt inside of her as she took Pete in her arms and held him, trying to comfort him as best she could.

"Where were you, Pete? Why didn't they take you?" She asked.

"I-I was behind the dumpster! P-Penny threw the ball too far, and they took her while I was g-getting it."

"Alright, Pete, just calm down. Did you hear anything about where they might be going?" Nora asked, trying to figure out what they were going to do. There was obviously no doubt about it, she would have to go and get Penny, but she didn't exactly think it was a great idea. There were _four_ of them, and one of her. But she promised herself, and the kids, she would take care of them, keep them safe, and now Penny was gone. Would she have been safe if Nora had just stayed home tonight?

"W-Willie said something about an old warehouse in town, but th-that's all I heard. M-maybe I should've followed them." Pete said. Nora shook her head.

"No, Pete, that would have been dangerous, I'm glad you found me instead." She sighed, looking around the town, trying to figure out what to do. She supposed she could gather up some townsfolk and have them help her, but even if she could do that, she didn't know where the Gogans were. An old warehouse, well, that could be anywhere. There were several of those just on the pier alone - looking through all of them would take too long.

"Elliott's gonna find her." Pete said suddenly, and Nora turned to see him searching the skies for...what? Oh, that was it, his imaginary dragon. Nora sighed.

"Pete, now is not the time to be talking about imaginary beasts." She said calmly. She had tried to respect his fantasy all this time, but tonight was dire - there was no time for this.

"Oh Nora, he's not imaginary. He's real. Penny sees him too, only she never talks about him." Pete replied. Nora breathed out, what was she supposed to say to him? She decided, for now, to let it go.

"Alright Pete, we're going to go back to the lighthouse, I'll wake up my father and ask him for his maps of Passamaquoddy, then we'll figure out where the warehouses are, and once we figure that out, we'll, I don't know, gather some people together, and-"

"There's Elliott, there's Elliott!" Pete shouted all of a sudden. Nora looked over at Pete who was jumping up and down, waving his arms back and forth as though signalling something in the sky. Nora looked up and saw nothing, exactly as she had expected.

"Come on, Pete." She said.

"Just wait, he's coming." Pete waited and it seemed as though his eyes were following something closer and closer until he was looking up to what would have been something the size of an apple tree.

"Elliott, did you find her?" Pete asked the empty space in front of him quietly. Nora watched in wonder as the boy listened to something, and Nora could almost swear she heard some strange mumbling, but she chalked it up to her own imagination playing tricks on her. Pete looked happy for a moment, turning back to Nora.

"He found her, Nora, he says she's in the warehouse off of Elm Street. We could go right now. Elliott will come with us. Boy, he's mad. With his help, the Gogans will be so scared, and-"

"Pete, stop it! This is a very dangerous situation right now, and we've no time to go on any wild goose chases because your imaginary friend, Elliott, told us to." Nora felt bad for snapping, but the boy had to face reality - his sister had been taken, and it was going to take more than fantasy to get her back.

Pete didn't look hurt, he only looked like he had expected that answer from her. He paused, looking up into the sky again.

"Elliott, I think we'd better show her. Yes, that's right, you can become visible."

"Pete, this isn't-" She froze on the spot, because there in front of her appeared a large green and purple dragon, looking down at her with a shy smile, and a clawed hand moved up to wave. Nora swallowed. Pete managed a small smile.

"Elliott, this is Nora. Nora, Elliott." He introduced. Then there was that mumbling sound again, and Nora was sure it was coming the dragon now. Only she couldn't understand what he was saying. She looked to Pete, wide-eyed. Pete understood.

"Oh, he says, it's nice to meet you." He waited as Elliott spoke some more. "And he says thanks for taking care of me and Penny." Nora swallowed, trying to find her voice. This was strange, _definitely_ strange.

"Oh, um, well, you're welcome." She managed. Elliott managed one small smile before he turned to Pete, smile dropping and mumbling once again. Pete's mouth dropped and his eyes widened. Nora immediately forgot about the fact that there was a giant dragon standing in front of her, as her mind went back to Penny.

"What? What's he saying?" Nora asked. Pete began to cry a little.

"He said the Gogans hurt Penny. Bad. They've got her locked in a room, and they're all laughing about it." He replied. "We gotta go get her."

Nora nodded, and she looked up to Elliott, feeling nervous and a little shaken by the presence of a creature she had always thought fictitious, but right now, there was a little girl out there who needed their help, all of their help.

"Alright, Elliott, you know where Penny is?" Nora asked. Elliott nodded with a smile. Nora nodded.

"Right then, well, let's go get her." She exclaimed, and without warning, Elliott lowered his neck down to the ground, and Pete immediately clambered up onto his back. Nora, however, was a little apprehensive. It was only Elliott's reassuring smile, and Pete's desperate eyes that got her to follow suit. She didn't know anything about flying dragons, nor how safe it was, but she did know what she felt for that little girl, and anger filled her from top to bottom. They had hurt her, and if she had anything to do with it, they would pay for that.


	22. Chapter 22: The Showdown

**Chapter Twenty Two: Showdown**

Penny didn't know what time it was, but she knew it was late. The room was quiet, she had stopped hearing the laughter and evil voices of the Gogans ages ago. It sounded as though they were slowly going to bed, one by one. It worried Penny greatly - _tonight's our night_, Willie had said. How long would it be before everyone went to bed and Willie had his chance.

She shivered, hugging her knees tightly to her chest, feeling sleep trying to take her. She couldn't let it, it would only let her guard down. Who was she kidding, what guard did she have anyway? Willie was stronger, and she was weak, hurt. Mr. Gogan had given her a licking like none other. She wouldn't be able to fight Willie off if she tried. He had always been stronger than she, holding her down, forcing her to do things she had never thought imaginable until that first day he came into her room. She had at least thought, on that day she escaped with Pete and Elliott, that she would never have to face those demons again, but here she was, locked up in a dark room all alone, just waiting.

Penny couldn't help but wonder if Pete were out looking for her. If he told Elliott, or even Nora. How would they even find her? Unless they had followed her, but if they had, why hadn't they come? She felt tears stinging her eyes, her hope was gone. It was over.

That was when she heard voices.

"Quit yer gripin', you'll get a chance once I'm done." Willie said, just outside her door. Her stomach swam and she pressed herself against the cold stone wall.

"Ah come on, Willie, you been holdin' out on me all this time, keepin' her all to yerself, an' now yer gonna make me wait?" Grover asked quite loudly. Willie shushed him.

"Keep yer mouth shut, or ma 'n pa'll hear you. I'm the oldest, I get to go first. Now git upstairs an' I'll git you when I'm done." He said. Penny heard Grover cursing, but finally heard his footsteps fading, and the jingle of keys. Penny swallowed hard.

Willie was here.

Penny's mind was racing, trying to reach into the last pockets of ideas for some kind of escape plan, but eventually resigned herself to the fact that there was nothing she could do. Even if she tried to run, they would outrun her. Even if she tried to fight back, they would subdue her, beat her. Even if she screamed, they would just shut her up. It was really hopeless. She could do nothing but take it, and accept that it wouldn't be the last time either. Her stomach was filling up with bile just thinking that it wouldn't be just Willie, either. What would Grover be like?

The door opened, and Penny squinted as the light from the outer room penetrated the darkness, but she could make out Willie's figure in the doorway. He was holding a lantern, which illuminated his face enough for Penny to make out a toothless grin, his eyes on Penny.

He didn't say a word, he simply took a step in, and shut the door slowly behind him, his eyes never leaving her. Penny swallowed as he put the lantern down on the ground and laughed quietly, under his breath almost. Penny felt her heart racing and her breathing becoming faster. She always hated that she couldn't hide her fear, and she almost thought he liked it that way.

He moved in until he was standing right above her, Penny pressed back into the wall as far as she could go, afraid to look up, afraid to look away. Every part of her body hurt and she felt as though her heart were going to claw its way out of her chest and run down the street. She had never been _this_ scared in her life.

Willie knelt down in front of her, until his face was inches from hers. She could smell his breath - there was that familiar stench of booze, a favourite of Willie's. He was always worse when he had been drinking. Penny swallowed.

Willie considered her for a moment before he grabbed her chin with his strong, ugly hands and yanked her chin up to force her to look at him. The only lighting in the room being the lantern made his features seem different, more frightening. Penny whimpered as she stared into those dark eyes.

"Missed you, Penny. I mean, when you an' Pete ran away, I 'spected we'd find you that night, but you plum disappeared, and I had to wait. Wait forever. Not only did I have to listen to ma 'n pa belly-achin' and havin' to do all yer chores and such, but worse, there were no nights like this for me. Gotta tell ya, Penny, because of that, I ain't happy with you. But it ain't gonna stop it either, 'cause I've waited too long." He released her chin and she began to shiver, feeling tears down her face. She held her hands together so tightly, she could feel the skin breaking.

She tried to move away quickly when he moved his face in near hers, but he grabbed a fistful of her hair and pulled her close as she cried out, earning her a slap.

"None of that, Penny, I don't wanna wake anybody now." He whispered, pulling her face up beside his. He took in a deep breath through his nose and exhaled shakily.

"Well, don't you smell pretty? Like strawberries and peaches. Did they give you nice baths, Penny?" He laughed a little, pressing his face against her neck, kissing it a little. Penny sobbed outwardly, not even caring anymore how scared she sounded. She pulled up her hands and pressed them against his chest, trying to push him away, but she knew it would be a fruitless effort. He was so strong, and so determined.

His mouth was wet and sloppy, and his grunts were even and low. When he seemed to realize the girl was trying to push him away, he let go of her hair, pulled away and stared at her, laughing.

"Stop tryin' to stop it, Penny, yer gonna enjoy it just as much as I will." He moved back then, and grabbed hold of her ankles, yanking hard, pulling her away from the stone wall, causing her to lay down flat against the concrete floor. She felt her back throbbing and Willie just continued to laugh at her, as he jumped on top of her, pinning her between his legs and holding her frail arms up above her head. She cried as he leaned in to her.

"Why don't you give yer old uncle Willie a kiss to say yer sorry for leavin'?" He said, flashing his toothless grin. Penny swallowed as tears were leaking into her ears. Her whole body was trembling as she scrambled to shake her head desperately. He only laughed again.

"Well fine then, I guess I'll just have to steal it away." He leaned in closer, and she turned her face away, but that only made him angry. Maneuvering himself so he had both her hands locked in one of his own, he took his free hand, and grabbed her forehead, forcing her whole face upright, as he lowered himself in and pressed his lips against hers. She started to gag as she tried to pull away. He had never kissed her before - this was...so different. She started to panic. Was he going to try different things, worse things with her?

She couldn't breath, she just kept her lips pressed tightly together, as his lips explored hers. She thought she was going to throw up.

He raised his head and considered her, laying there like a rag doll, helpless and frightened. He eyed her like a lion his prey before he went in for the final attack. Flashing his toothless grin, his eyes wandered to Penny's clothes. He released her arms and she breathed out. Was it...was it over?

She dared not hope.

He grunted.

"Take off yer clothes." He demanded. Penny's heart stopped and her eyes widened.

He watched her for a minute while she didn't move.

"I said," he grabbed her shirt. "Take _off_ yer clothes!" He started fiddling with the buttons, and she started to get really scared. She screamed, and pushed his hands away, desperate to hold on to what little thread of strength she had to stop him, but he was stronger. He only shoved her down hard against the concrete floor when she tried to lean up to pry his hands away from her clothes.

"Stop it! Please!"

Willie only laughed, getting a few buttons undone.

"No!' She sobbed.

He reached under her skirt. She kicked away. He slapped her so hard, she felt blood on her lip.

"Stop it!" She screamed.

"Quit yer screamin'!" Willie screamed back, ripping at her shirt, giving up on the buttons. She couldn't stop him, she couldn't-

And then she heard them. Thunderous footsteps approaching. She breathed out, listening carefully. Was it...could it be?

Willie froze, and he turned around, looking at the closed door, seemingly frightened.

"D'you hear that?" He asked. Penny didn't answer, she was frozen solid in fear.

Willie stood up then, grabbing Penny under hear armpits and heaving her up, placing his dirty hand over her mouth to keep her silent, as he led her out of the room into the main warehouse.

Neither of them saw anything, but they still heard the foosteps. They were coming from outside.

Penny hardly noticed when Grover, and Mr. and Mrs. Gogan came flying down the stairs, the latter two staring at Willie curiously, no doubt wondering why he had Penny out.

"What in the Sam Hill is that noise?" Mrs. Gogan shouted. Willie shrugged.

"Yeh got me!" He exclaimed.

It was then that the warehouse door opened, and two figures came inside. Penny's heart lifted inside of her. It was Pete, and with him was Nora. Penny felt her hope rising. That was the loud footsteps. Elliott was with them, just invisible.

"Well, well, if it isn't our little Petey. What's the matter, missy, get sick of him an' decide he belongs to us after all?" Mrs. Gogan shouted, glaring at Nora like she was carrying the plague. Nora simply crossed her arms.

"I'm not giving him to you. We came for Penny." Nora said squarely, fearlessly, staring at the four of them as if they were no match for her. They all laughed.

"Listen lady, you've been nothin' but a thorn in our side ever since we came to this stinkin' town. These brats belong to us - we bought 'em fair an' square! We have the bill of sale here an' everythin'. So, if you'll just hand over the boy, we'll be on our way back to our happy little home." Mrs. Gogan said, stroking Penny's hair as though she meant to be the best mother in the world. Nora, however, saw the bruises on Penny's body, the ripped shirt and knew what had happened. She was beaten, and it looked as though they came just as Willie...Nora swallowed.

"Bill of sale or not, you'll give me the girl, or suffer the consequences." She said boldly, causing the Gogans to laugh once again. Penny waited, while Nora just stared at them with a smirk.

The footsteps grew louder then, and the Gogans' eyes all widened, looking around for the source of that sound. Penny noticed Willie's grip tighten around Penny - he was scared, Penny could tell.

That was when Penny saw him - yes, he was still invisible to the rest of them, but she knew Pete could see him too - Elliott.

He approached the Gogans, stood hovering over them and waited until that moment to reveal himself.

His nose blew smoke and he growled loudly as he stared down into the faces of the people he hated the most, for what they did to his kids, Pete and Penny. He would make sure they never hurt those kids again.

The Gogans stared into the face of their attacker with surprise and terror - a dragon, it was...a dragon. Mrs. Gogan screamed, and then the rest of them followed suit, but they were frozen to the spot.

Elliott reached out a hand and took hold of Willie by the scruff of his shirt, causing him to scream out wildly as Elliott pulled him up in the air. Willie had released Penny, and Penny only stared up at Elliott as he pulled Willie close to his face.

"Oh please don' hurt me, I-I didn't do nothing wrong, I-I just..." Willie stuttured, kicking his legs and flailing wildly. Elliott started to murmur in his own dragon language. Pete took the opportunity to take a step forward.

"Elliott says he wants you all to leave Passamaquoddy and never come back." He said bravely, Nora's hand on his shoulder for support. Willie didn't say a word, he still stared into the face of the dragon fearfully.

"D-dragon or no dragon, we still own the two of you, an' we have every right to bring you back to the farm with us." Mrs. Gogan said nervously, pulling the bill of sale out of her pocket. "It says so right here."

Elliott dropped Willie on the ground then, and leaned down with narrow eyebrows, his face only inches away from Mrs. Gogan. He sniffed the bill of sale, and with a small path of fire, destroyed it in an instant.

Mrs. Gogan's eyes widened as she stared at it, and Penny couldn't help but feel a small ounce of happiness. They were free.

And with a quick, swift movement, Elliott swept up all four Gogans in his hands, them all screaming like frightened children, and, with a wink for Penny, he flew out of the warehouse, carting the Gogans away from their lives forever.

Penny stood frozen to the spot as Pete and Nora approached her, tears in her eyes. Pete swallowed as he came near her, tears in his own eyes. He didn't even ask if she was okay, he saw the bruises, he knew he had been too late.

Nora didn't hold back, she didn't doubt Penny felt angry, even betrayed a little. Nora had promised to keep them safe, and Penny had still been taken, and hurt. Who knew what was going on in that room with Willie before she arrived? It made her sick to her stomach to imagine what had happened to that little girl in the time since she arrived here.

But she still couldn't just stand back. That little girl had been through more than any child should ever have to face, and whether Penny wanted it or not, she needed to know Nora was there.

Nora came close to Penny, who was still crying, and she knelt down, looking up at Penny, who wouldn't look at her. Nora felt her throat close up, listening to her sobs, wanting nothing more than to sob along with her. But she stayed strong.

"Penny?" She said softly, and that was all she had to say, because Penny fell forward, wrapping her small arms around Nora's neck, leaning in, desperate for some kind of comfort, some kind of safety. Crying hard, she clung to Nora as though the world would end any given moment. Nora was shocked, but more, she was filled with love, compassion and worry for this little girl, stronger now than ever. She held Penny in her arms, stroking her hair, shushing her sobs, telling her it was over, that it would be okay.

Penny had broken. Everything had been too much for her, and something strange had happened to her when she saw Nora. She was changed that night, somehow. Even though the Gogans had taken her, had beaten her, Nora had been right. Penny had _always_ been safe with Nora. Nora would never beat them. Nora would never hurt them. She had been nothing but kind, caring and friendly. Nora was different, Pete was right all along. And now, Penny needed it now more than ever.

Pete ran forward and fell into Nora's arms too, and the three stayed there for some time, Nora and the children.

Elliott entered the room then and made a satisfied noise. He was happy to see Penny allowing someone in. It was definitely not what he had been expecting, but it made him feel good inside too.

He spoke in a low voice, as Penny and Pete broke away from Nora and stared at him, listening carefully. Nora had no idea what he was saying. Pete smiled.

"Elliott says he took the Gogans back to their farm, and they ran inside the house screaming for their lives. He says they'll never come back here, he's pretty sure of that." He looked at Penny, who smiled a little. That _was_ good news. And the bill of sale was destroyed. The Gogans no longer owned the orphans. They could never use that excuse again.

Nora smiled.

"Well that's _wonderful!_" She looked up at Elliott, still unsure how she felt about the existence of the dragon at all. "T-thank you, Elliott. Pete and I, well, I suppose we couldn't have done any of this without you."

Elliott blushed and looked away with humility.

"Well," Nora stood up and reached out both hands for the children. "I think we ought to get back home."

Pete took her right hand without hesitation, but Penny took a second. No, it would be alright. She was safe, the Gogans were gone, and Nora was here, and she would always have her brother.

She took Nora's left and the three walked out of the warehouse, away from one life and toward another.


	23. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

Two days later, everything seemed different. Penny's bruises began to fade, and yes, she did tell Nora what Willie was doing, how they had come just in time. But she felt safe, now. Willie would never come near her again. She had decided, with Nora's help, that she wouldn't tell Pete, not yet. They had both been through enough, she didn't want to add anything to Pete's pain. At least, not yet. She knew, when the time was right, she would tell her twin brother what she had been through, and why she could never tell him, but right now, she wanted to be more like him - happy and full of hope for their future.

It would take time, no doubt, but Penny wanted to be a child again, a child with no cares in the world but to grow up, learn what was right and wrong and just have fun.

And fun she would have. Nora had gone to the orphanage the day after they found Penny, and requested a new bill of sale to be drawn up, leaving her and Lampie the ones who could keep Pete and Penny. Penny had resisted the idea at first, the idea of staying in one place frightened her a little, especially in a place where the Gogans knew they were, but Elliott had told them not to worry - the Gogans wouldn't dare show their face again. Penny had to trust that.

Now, two days later, Pete and Penny were walking down the beach, heading to the caves to see Elliott. He had been pretty mysterious over the last couple of days, flying off without telling them where he was going, and coming back all secretive. They wanted to know why.

Elliott was sitting by the beach, invisible to all but the twins, and they approached him at a run, jumping him from behind, causing him to giggle loudly.

But, there was something in his eyes, something painful. He was sad about something. Penny was the one to notice.

"Elliott?" She asked, taking a spot on one of his legs, while Pete took the other. "What's the matter?"

His smile dropped slowly and he looked at Penny, and then at Pete. Yes, something was wrong, but what?

"You've been awful strange the last two days, and, well, we want to know why, Elliott." Pete added. Elliott breathed out, and as a tear rolled down his cheek, landing heavily on Penny's shoulder, he explained.

The twins listened, heavy-hearted, as tears began to sting their own eyes.

"Leave? You mean...you aren't staying with us anymore?" Pete asked.

"Did we do something wrong?" Penny added. Elliott stared at her seriously and shook his head, mumbling more. It wasn't their fault, he explained, but there was another reason why he had to leave. Penny swallowed.

"Someone else needs your help." She repeated. Elliott nodded.

"Another kid?" Pete asked. Elliott nodded. He explained that was his job. To find kids who needed help, help them, and then move on. It was a hard job, he said, because he loved all the kids he helped so much, and it was so nice to be able to help them, but it was very hard to leave them everytime. He said he was sorry, because he really loved Pete and Penny, and he would always have a special place for them in his heart, but this other kid really needed someone to come and help her.

Penny breathed out, tears falling down her face. This was hard, but she understood.

"Well, Elliott, you are definitely the right dragon for the job." She said with a forced smile. "You helped me and Pete out real good. If you can help this other kid just as well, then she'll be okay too."

The children hugged Elliott fiercely, and he clung to them tight. He promised he'd come and visit when he had a chance, but was glad they had Nora, and Lampie, and especially each other.

Pete and Penny held each other's hands as they watched Elliott take off and begin to fly toward his new assignment. They waved after him, tears in their eyes, sad to see him go, but knowing that it was the right time. Elliott had done everything he could to help Pete and Penny, and now they were on their own.

But then, they weren't. They had Nora now, and it was like having a mother all over again. One that would read with them, play with them, tuck them in at night and give them hugs and kisses. The twins would never be alone again, they would never have to worry about the Gogans and all the nightmares that went along with them.

As Elliott disappeared into the clouds above them, the twins headed back up to the lighthouse together, sad to see Elliott go.

"Do you think we'll ever see him again?" Penny asked, turning again to see if she could catch a glimpse of him. Pete shrugged.

"I dunno," he smiled, squeezing Penny's hand. "But at least we're not alone anymore." Penny looked at her brother and smiled.

"Pete, we've never been alone."

He stopped and smiled at her, and time stopped as the twins realized they had found their happiness. Pete had been right all along, a better life _did_ exist for them, and they had found it, with the help of a very special dragon, whom they would never forget.

"Come on," Pete said, letting go of Penny's hand. "I'll race you to the lighthouse!"

**THE END!**

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**A/N: **Thanks for reviewing, hope you enjoyed my story :)


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